tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6182653754044353812024-03-13T12:22:23.102+00:00Spilled Ale StudiosTabletop RPG blogger/3rd-party publisher, with a focus on D&D 5e mechanics and GMing advice.spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-8540008944841765102021-07-30T18:22:00.000+01:002021-07-30T18:22:08.184+01:00 spilledale.com - the new home for Spilled Ale StudiosSpilled Ale Studios has a new website: <a href="https://spilledale.com/" target="_blank">spilledale.com</a>!
This blog won't be used from this point on: any further articles and product announcements will be posted on the new website. Older posts have been migrated to the new site, though keep in mind the process was automated and there may be some issues with migrated content. For the time being this blog will also remain available, though that may change in the future. spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-27165363239879817832020-12-24T14:22:00.081+00:002020-12-24T14:58:43.663+00:00 Christmas Flash Sales!<p>Happy holidays, everyone! I know it's a very weird time for many of us, but I sincerely hope that you're in a position to relax and make merry (in a safe and socially responsible way).</p><p>If you feel like getting yourself a last minute present, or maybe you forgot to buy your DM a gift, why not take a look at one of our 48 hour Christmas flash sales? Each of the sale listed below starts at the stroke of midnight (GMT) on the 25th and will last until the end of Boxing Day (same time zone!).</p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Walking in a Winter Wasteland</h2><div>Get both <a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/wasteland-wanderers" target="_blank"><b><i>Wasteland Wanderers</i></b></a> and <i><b><a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/wasteland-wares">Wasteland Wares</a></b> </i>individually for 50% off, or 66% off both pdfs when purchased as a bundle!</div><div><br /></div><div>This flash sale is only available on <b><a href="https://itch.io/s/43653/walking-in-a-winter-wasteland" target="_blank">itch.io</a></b>. Just use any of the buttons below!
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<div><br /></div><h2>Ghostwalker of Christmas Present</h2><div>Get <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/295502/Ghostwalker-Eidolon" target="_blank"><b><i>Ghostwalker: Eidolon</i></b></a> for 50% off! </div><div><br /></div><div>This flash sale is only available via the button below! (which will only be an active link for the duration of the flash sale).</div> <br />
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<div><h2>The Secret Life of Toys</h2></div><div>Get <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/232126/The-Awakened-Item" target="_blank"><b><i>The Awakened Item</i></b></a> for 50% off! </div><div><br /></div><div>This flash sale is only available via the button below! (which will only be an active link for the duration of the flash sale).</div> <br />
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<div><br /></div><h2>Hark! The Herald Heroes Sing</h2><div>Get <b><i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/237190/Heroes-of-Song" target="_blank">Heroes of Song</a></i></b> for 50% off! </div><div><br /></div><div>This flash sale is only available via the button below! (which will only be an active link for the duration of the flash sale).</div> <br />
<input onclick="window.open('https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?discount=99d4c85982','_blank'); return false;" type="button" value="Get Heroes of Song!" />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-19205038043333687272020-11-28T13:48:00.000+00:002020-11-28T13:48:07.180+00:00#ArtIsEgo Journaling Games <p><b><i>Due to the content of one of the journaling games mentioned in this post, it comes with a trigger warning: natural disasters (flooding). The post resumes after a text break. </i></b></p>
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<p>Hey all!</p><p>I recently released a pair of solo journaling games as part of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArtIsEgo?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">#ArtIsEgo</a> jam! You can explore the jam <a href="https://itch.io/jam/art-is-ego-jam" target="_blank">on itch</a> and via its twitter hashtag! Find my entries on the <a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/" target="_blank">Spilled Ale Studios itch storefront</a>. Both games are pay what you want, and are released under a Creative Commons license that enables you to make your own games using the same resolution mechanics.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/flee-the-flood" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="630" src="https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzQ2Njk1MDkucG5n/original/wy20sw.png" width="315" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/flee-the-flood" target="_blank">Flee the Flood</a> </i> imagines a near-future world in which climate change has reached an apocalyptic crisis point. The player takes on the role of a person trapped in a storm-ravaged city as the floodwaters begin to rise. Somehow, you must gather the tools and resources to build a raft or other escape vehicle. As you play you'll use a deck of cards to generate narrative seeds through which you'll craft your own story of success or failure. You'll record this experience through the medium of journal entries.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/bleakest-knight" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="630" src="https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzQ2Njk0ODkucG5n/original/TagL9g.png" width="315" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-style: italic;"><a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/bleakest-knight" target="_blank">Bleakest Knight</a> </i> takes the resolution mechanics used in Flee the Flood and tells a very different story: The one night of crime and chaos that either makes or breaks a masked vigilante's career. Before play you'll develop your vigilante identity and a Rogue's Gallery of supervillains. The narrative seeds you generate help you discover if you foiled their villainous plots, and whether any escaped to challenge you again another day!</div></div>spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-24897482133233974562020-11-25T19:54:00.005+00:002020-11-25T19:55:10.477+00:005e: Wasteland Wares 2nd Edition is available now! <p><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hot on the heels of <em>Wasteland Wanderers 2nd Edition</em> comes the massively mutated <em>Wasteland Wares 2nd Edition!</em> </b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><em>Wasteland Wares</em> updates and expands on the original with a completely updated design, more art, and a whole lot of new content. Along with key revisions and new rules, the 2nd edition of <i>Wasteland Wares </i>includes new merchant-themed character options compatible with the classes in <i>Wasteland Wanderers</i>. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Although designed for use in post-apocalyptic campaign settings, a lot of the content within can be utilised in modern, science-fiction, and in some cases even fantasy worlds with minimal to no conversion effort.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="t_cover.png" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YoeIJnOnX_4/X7606FdxCyI/AAAAAAAAQCY/WmCBd7iTA-McCBrv4QISWsAmBbBpuak-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1043/s_cover.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="494" /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><em>Wasteland Wares 2nd Edition </em>is available now for $11.99, and can be picked up on either of the following markets: </p><ul><li><a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/wasteland-wares" target="_blank">itch.io</a> (if you can use this storefront please do so, as less commission is taken from the sale)</li><li><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/220117/Wasteland-Wanderers-Fifth-Edition-Player-Options-For-PostApocalyptic-Worlds?&affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">DriveThruRPG</a></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">If you bought a copy of the original <i>Wasteland Wares</i>, <b>you've received an upgrade to the new edition for free!</b></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Content Previews</h2><div>Take a peek inside the book</div><br />
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<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-35269405982476260142020-10-19T21:16:00.001+01:002020-10-19T21:19:11.551+01:005e: Expanding Icewind Dale, Part II - Of Dragons and Giants<p>This is the second part of a two-part series expanding the <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden</i> campaign by converting other published adventures. This post is aimed at Dungeon Masters looking to add extra material to their Icewind Dale campaign. if you're a player, stream viewer, or podcast listener, you'll find potential spoilers ahead. </p><p>The first part of the series provided detailed notes on how to convert the adventure <i>Frozen Sick</i> (found either in<i> The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount</i> or for free on DndBeyond and Roll20). You can find part 1: <i>Frozen Sick</i> here.</p><p>Part 2 covers three different adventures. Because they're much more easily adapted, less detail is required for each and it isn't necessary to provide an alternative adventure outline as I did for Frozen Sick. the format for this post will be slightly different, providing general conversion notes rather than an entire adventure outline.</p><p>The following adventures are explored in this article:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><i>Dragon of Icespire Peak. </i></b>A short campaign included in the <i>D&D Essentials Kit</i>. Specifically, we're interested in the final "boss", a young white dragon named Cryovain, as well as the dungeon in which he lives.</li><li><b><i>The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl. </i></b>The second of a trilogy of higher level adventures collectively entitled Against the Giants, which is found in <i>Tales from the Yawning Portal</i>. </li><li><b><i>Berg of the Frost Giants. </i></b> This is an adventure location described in a previous campaign, Storm King's Thunder. It can be used as a substitute for The <i>Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl</i>, or in conjunction with it.</li></ul><p></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><i>Dragon of Icespire Peak</i></h1><p>It's possible to take content from this <i>Essentials Kit</i> campaign and use it to expand <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden</i>'s mid-campaign. While most of the campaign isn’t suitable, the main villain and the final dungeon can be ported into Icewind Dale with only a little bit of effort. The converted adventure is suitable for characters of level 6 or 7.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TE49-tArXg/X43xxOqkURI/AAAAAAAAP5k/B3M5gh_4O44Kh7noWTzFtFtUeL4ZlFF5ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/cover%255B1%255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1700" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TE49-tArXg/X43xxOqkURI/AAAAAAAAP5k/B3M5gh_4O44Kh7noWTzFtFtUeL4ZlFF5ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/cover%255B1%255D.jpg" title="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span>(</span><i>Image copyright <i>Wizards of the Coast</i></i><span>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><i><br /></i><h2 style="text-align: left;">Placing the Adventure Site</h2><p>For the purposes of this adaptation, Icespire Hold needs to be relocated to a position of your choosing somewhere within the Spine of the World. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Introducing the Adventure</h2><p>Instead of harassing the Sword Coast, Cryovain has recently been preying on the reindeer herds in Icewind Dale. He lairs in a fortress in the Spine of the World, which he recently claimed after driving out the orcs who lived there.</p><p>There are many ways you can seed this adventure throughout the campaign, as early as you like:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Ten-Towners talk about the appearance of the dragon (a number of hunters and trappers have seen it fly by while out in the wilderness and it has become a subject of taproom gossip). They aren’t too concerned by the appearance of another, younger dragon since Cryovain is leaving them alone for now. They assume that it will eventually be driven off by Arveiaturace and the status quo will be restored.</li><li>Reghed tribesmen the characters encounter are more worried about the dragon, since it is causing the herds they rely on for meat, hides, and bone to dwindle. </li><li>If the characters encounter Orcs of the Many-Arrows Tribe in the wilderness, the orcs could be from the clan Cryovain drove out of Icespire Hold.</li><li>They can learn about the dragon while talking with friendly goliaths from either tribe. The goliaths are not only aware of the dragon, they are searching for its lair.</li><li>They can see the dragon themselves while travelling in or near the mountains, or it could plunge from the sky into the middle of a reindeer herd they encounter in the wilderness. </li></ul><p></p><p>None of the factions above recommend the player characters go dragon hunting unless they believe the party are extremely competent (eg. not until they are of appropriate level!). Friendly and Indifferent NPCs do their best to put characters off from any such attempt.</p><p>Matters become more urgent after the chardalyn dragon rampages through Ten-Towns in chapter 4. By this time the player characters should be level 6 to 7, and equipped to take on Cryovain at Icespire Hold. With the settlements weakened, Cryovain becomes more daring. He begins preying on yaks, axe beaks, sled dogs, and other domesticated beasts, and even the occasional traveller. Perhaps the dragon even attacks the party on their travels, in which case it retreats after losing 10 hit points in battle as described under “Where’s the White Dragon?”. Surviving Speakers ask for the help of their local heroes, hoping they will slay another dragon to save Ten-Towns. If the party already know that the Reghed tribes are concerned by the same issue they might be able to negotiate multiple rewards from each faction. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Finding Cryovain</h2><p>Talking to people who have seen Cryovain in action confirms he typically flies towards the Spine of the World after an attack. The Spine of the World is a very large place, of course. This would be a good time for the party to visit a friendly goliath tribe, since the mountain-dwellers might have more of an idea where to find the dragon. A town Speaker or NPC ally might suggest this if the players don’t consider it themselves.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>If the party visit Skytower Shelter, the goliaths of the Akannathi tribe are well aware of the new dragon and have been keeping an eye on his movements from atop their griffons.</li><li>If the party visit Wyrmdoom Crag, the goliaths of the Thuunlakalaga have a history with white dragons and so were both concerned and excited at the prospect of another dragon to fight. Their scouts have ranged across the mountains in search of the lair.</li></ul><p></p><p>Either way, the chosen tribe can give precise directions to Icespire Hold. If the tribe and the characters have friendly relations, they may be able to persuade some goliath warriors to go on the quest to kill Cryovain at your discretion. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Icespire Hold</h2><p>In the recent past orcs of the Many-Arrows tribe made their lair in this crumbling fortress. They were driven out by Cryovain. Run the dungeon as is.</p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><i>Against the Giants</i></h1><p>A set of three adventures published in <i>Tales from the Yawning Portal</i>, one of which makes an excellent addition to <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden</i>. Specifically: <i>The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl</i>. The adventure is intended for level 12 characters, making it a perfect follow-up to the campaign proper.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tNb4Gi__ILc/X43yVe97IlI/AAAAAAAAP5s/5UeY4WmuunAXPzosSZwfpLioh4wR9YzIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s849/totyp-06-12%255B1%255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1700" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tNb4Gi__ILc/X43yVe97IlI/AAAAAAAAP5s/5UeY4WmuunAXPzosSZwfpLioh4wR9YzIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s849/totyp-06-12%255B1%255D.png" title="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span>(</span><i>Image copyright <i>Wizards of the Coast</i></i><span>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br />Incorporating the Plot</h2><p>Treat the frost giant Jarl Grugnur as the current Jarl of Jarls. All frost giants therefore owe him their fealty. The frost giants are beginning to become more active, perhaps emboldened by Auril’s permanent winter. There are a few possibilities as to why:</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Use Against the Giants as is</h3><p>One option is to leave the larger plot of<i> Against the Giants</i> intact, in which case the activity of the frost giants is part of a larger scheme involving other types of giants and spearheaded by drow. Even so, you might want to skip the hill giant adventure since it's intended for lower level PCs (though you could make some adjustments), instead having your PCs move straight on to the fire giants. If you need an idea for where to take your players next, the drow ringleaders provide a possibility: if your players want to know why the drow needed the giants to soften up the surface world, they'll have to venture into the underdark to find out!</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">There is no alliance of giants</h3><p>Perhaps the frost giants are acting independently. Jarl Grugnur is in fact amassing an army of giants, ready to rampage across Icewind Dale and conquer it. The region would then become a staging ground for the frost giants to build a larger empire across the Sword Coast, freezing the conquered lands as they go.</p><p>The drow can still be behind this if you like, in which case you can consider taking the drow which normally appear in the <i>Hall of the Giant King</i> and re-home them in <i>The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl</i>. You could empty out the guest bedrooms (currently occupied by giants of other types) to make room for the drow party.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Jarl Grugnur is being tricked by Asmodeus</h3><p>As above, but Asmodeus is behind the giants' plans for conquest. He appeared to the Jarl in the guise of Thrym, god of frost giants. This mirrors the true story behind Xardorok and the duergar in <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden</i>. This connection suggests both events are part of a larger scheme of the Archdevil, and can be used to draw your players into a new infernal-themed campaign arc. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Placing the Adventure Site</h2><p>The stronghold of Grugnur, Lord of Frost Giants, should be hidden away amid the tallest peaks of the Spine of the World. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Introducing the Adventure</h2><p>You can seed this adventure early by suggesting the presence of a larger frost giant settlement and a change in frost giant movements within the region. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Ten-Towners and Reghed tribesfolk might note in conversation that wilderness encounters with or sightings of frost giants seem to be on the rise. From Chapter 5 onward, gossip about this begins to escalate because encounters grow more frequent still. You might consider adapting the wilderness encounter table to add a few additional frost giant encounters.</li><li>Frost giants encountered in the wilderness might shout “For Jarl Grugnur!” in the giant tongue as they charge into battle. A giant among their number could be carrying written orders from Jarl Grugnur. </li><li>While completing the quest “Holed Up” (see “Dougan’s Hole”), the party might find a giant-sized seal leather scroll case near Garagai’s bedroll. Inside is a missive from Estia, Jarl Grugnur’s wife. In years past Garagai had been a rival for Estia’s affection until he was driven out by Grugnur when he became Jarl of the Glacial Rift. Estia wrote one last letter of farewell to him, which he treasured until his death.</li><li>Verbeegs encountered during the adventure could have received an invitation from the Jarl to join with his forces, promising any giantkin who does so glory and wealth in the days to come. </li><ul><li>The characters might find a giant-sized scroll case in Duhg’s treasure basket (found in the chapter 1 adventure “The Mead Must Flow”). Inside is a letter from the Jarl effect written in giant runes. Gahg, Dugh’s paramour, received a similar invitation, though the characters are unlikely to learn that. </li><li>Tinjong (see “Dark Duchess” in chapter 2) received an invitation too. The party might learn about it through conversation if they travel with her for a while. Tinjong no longer has the letter, which she long since used for kindling, but she kept the giant-sized seal leather scroll case and tied it to her belt to use as storage for sling stones. Characters who have seen similar scroll cases might reason she received a letter from the frost giants. </li></ul></ul><p></p><p>The events of <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden</i> ought to keep player characters too occupied to seriously consider seeking out the giants before resolving the campaign, but just in case friendly NPCs can caution that even a single frost giant is a dangerous foe. An encounter with one in the wilderness can do a lot to reinforce that threat. When the characters have overcome a goddess, however, they may feel more ready to take on the giants. </p><p>Ready or not, the giants begin to move and a war party raids Ten-Towns. Unlike with the chardalyn dragon, have this event occur while the characters are already in the vicinity and able to take part in the defense.</p><p>After this attack it becomes obvious that the frost giants are a threat that needs dealing with. The Speakers can ask for help if necessary. They don’t have much in the way of a reward, since any wealth Ten-Towns still has is tied up in rebuilding. A reminder of the treasures the frost giants likely have in their fortress should hopefully be enough. One or two of the giants who attack Ten-Towns could carry magic items to help support this idea.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Finding the Glacial Rift</h2><p>Once it’s decided to hunt down the frost giants, finding them isn’t actually that difficult. By now the characters might have magic that will help them locate the stronghold, but if not they really only have to follow the trail of the frost giant war party back into the mountains. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Frost Giant Stronghold</h2><p>Run the adventure as is, subject to any changes you deem fit. If the frost giants aren’t part of a larger plot among the giants, then the teleporting bar in the hidden escape tunnel may not exist or may have an entirely different destination. One possibility is it could transport anyone in the alcove to the Svardborg, the Berg of the Frost Giants (a location in Storm King’s Thunder, see below!).</p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><i>Storm King's Thunder</i></h1><p>Svardborg, the Berg of the Frost Giants, is one of several locations described in the <i>Storm King’s Thunder</i> campaign. </p><p>If you don’t have access to <i>Against the Giants</i>, you could adapt the idea that the frost giants are amassing their forces for conquest (see the conversion notes for <i>Against the Giants</i>, above) and simply use Svardborg as an alternative base of operations for in place of the Glacial Rift. Likewise, Jarl Storvald can take Grugnur’s place as Jarl of Jarls. </p><p>If you have access to both <i>Against the Giants</i> and <i>Storm King’s Thunder</i>, then the frost giants of Svardborg are allies of Jarl of Jarls Grugnur. The party might visit the Svardborg before or after they go to the Glacial Rift. </p><p>Either way, since Svardborg is intended for a party of 8th level characters it fits less easily into the narrative of <i>Rime of the Frost Maiden</i> as written, and I’d suggest beefing this adventure site up a bit to make it an appropriate challenge for a 12th level party. </p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxUm4B5BXmY/X43y4GUT5dI/AAAAAAAAP50/gMTxTVQfud8lQqu1cGxkQjCfgoN_kaTXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/skt07-01%255B1%255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1700" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxUm4B5BXmY/X43y4GUT5dI/AAAAAAAAP50/gMTxTVQfud8lQqu1cGxkQjCfgoN_kaTXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/skt07-01%255B1%255D.png" title="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span>(</span><i>Image copyright <i>Wizards of the Coast</i></i><span>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br />Placing the Adventure Site</h2><p>Svardborg is already located out on the Sea of Moving Ice, which means it can easily be used as a location in <i>Rime of the Frost Maiden</i>. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Introducing the Adventure</h2><p>The details under <i>Against the Giants</i> apply here too, whether you’re using this adventure site to complement <i>The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl</i> or in place of it. </p><p>Frost giant war parties descend on Ten-Towns from the direction of the Sea of Moving Ice as well as the Spine of the World. The two groups consolidate their forces before beginning their raid. Ten-Towns scouts report that the war party from the North is smaller, which causes the town’s Speakers and military leaders to speculate that any camp or stronghold in that direction is smaller and weaker. They suggest the party head that way first, but leave the decision up to the characters.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Finding Svardborg</h2><p>The awakened sperm whale Angajuk knows the location of the frost giant stronghold and can take characters there. He normally tries to avoid it as the giants roam the waters around the village in their ships, hunting whales, but he will brave the journey for characters who have earned his trust once they impress upon him that their need is great. </p><p>If the party goes to the Glacial Rift first they may be able to teleport directly to the island from that location. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Svardborg</h2><p>Run the adventure as is except as otherwise noted here, even the part about the Zhentarim alliance and the Ring of Winter. Jarl Storvald is looking for the ring independently of Jarl Grugnur’s plans. Storvald wants to find the ring and use it to overthrow Grugnur and claim the title of Jarl of Jarls.</p><p>If the zhentarim scouts and manticores are defeated before they can rescue Nilraun from danger, he’ll try to trade information for his life (giving up as little as he thinks he can get away with, of course). If he learns the party are from Icewind Dale, he offers to tell them the name of an important Zhentarim spy in the region provided they let him go and never reveal he was their source. If the characters agree to this deal Nilraun exposes Speaker Naerth Maxildanarr of Targos, finally revealing his treachery.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Returning from Svardborg</h2><p>If the party arrived by boat or with Agajuk’s help they may already have a way home. If not, there’s one option available to them:</p><p>The <i>conch of teleportation</i> found in this adventure doesn’t teleport creatures to Maelstrom. Instead, choose one of the following locations in Icewind Dale:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In front of the passage to the Glacial Rift (from The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl).</li><li>The Jarlmoot.</li></ul><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Cryovain II: The Recycling</h2><p>It seems that <i>Wizards of the Coast </i>reused the white dragon Cryovain, first using the name for an adult dragon in this adventure and then again as a young dragon in <i>Dragon of Icespire Peak</i>. If you decide to use both adventures in your expanded <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden </i>campaign then one of the two dragons needs to be renamed. It doesn’t really matter which!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-36590472574058404242020-10-18T15:25:00.024+01:002020-10-18T15:31:01.626+01:005e: Wasteland Wanderers 2nd Edition is available now!<p><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b><em>Wasteland Wanderers</em> has mutated! <em>Wasteland Wanderers 2nd Edition</em> is bigger, badder, and better than ever!</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><em>Wasteland Wanderers 2nd Edition </em>has been released! It updates and expands on the original with a completely updated design, more art, rules revisions for the 6 wasteland classes, and a host of additional player options: new archetypes, species, backgrounds, feats, and more. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Although designed for use in post-apocalyptic campaign settings, a lot of the content within can be utilised in modern, science-fiction, and in some cases even fantasy worlds with minimal to no conversion effort.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="t_cover.png" height="640" src="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/10541/_product_images/220117/t_cover.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="494" /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><em>Wasteland Wanderers 2nd Edition </em>is available now for $9.99, and can be picked up on either of the following markets: </p><ul><li><a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/wasteland-wanderers">itch.io</a> (if you can use this storefront please do so, as less commission is taken from the sale)</li><li><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/220117/Wasteland-Wanderers-Fifth-Edition-Player-Options-For-PostApocalyptic-Worlds?&affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">DriveThruRPG</a></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">If you bought a copy of the original <i>Wasteland Wanderers</i>, <b>you've received an upgrade to the new edition for free!</b></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Content Previews</h2><div>Take a peek inside the book!</div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="WastelandWanderers_s_biosynthcat.png" height="414" src="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/10541/_product_images/220117/WastelandWanderers_s_biosynthcat.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="WastelandWanderers_s_scientist.png" height="415" src="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/10541/_product_images/220117/WastelandWanderers_s_scientist.png" style="text-align: start;" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="WastelandWanderers_s_shepherd.png" height="414" src="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/10541/_product_images/220117/WastelandWanderers_s_shepherd.png" style="text-align: start;" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="WastelandWanderers_s_backgrounds.png" height="415" src="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/10541/_product_images/220117/WastelandWanderers_s_backgrounds.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;" width="640" /></div><ul>
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<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-68841083534328770342020-10-05T15:09:00.009+01:002020-10-19T21:18:54.562+01:005e: Expanding Icewind Dale, Part I - Frozen Sick<p>Last weekend I started running <i>Icewind Dale:</i> <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden </i>for my family. Naturally a bunch of prep work was involved before the campaign started, and I want to share a part of that with you today. I realised there's a lot of additional material in the <i>Dungeons & Dragons </i>product line that you can fold into <i>Icewind Dale </i>to expand the campaign. <i>Expanding Icewind Dale </i>is a two-part series that highlights some of that content along with my thoughts about how best to adapt it. </p><p>This post is aimed at Dungeon Masters looking to add extra material to their <i>Icewind Dale </i>campaign. if you're a player, stream viewer, or podcast listener, you'll find potential spoilers ahead. </p><p>The scope of this article is limited to previously published adventures and campaigns by <i>Wizards of the Coast</i>, but you definitely aren't limited to only official products when expanding your version of <i>Icewind Dale</i>. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there's a lot of compatible content on <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/" target="_blank">DMsGuild</a> already that's well worth taking a look at. There's probably a bunch of wintry adventures and supplements on <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?filters=44827_0_0_0_0&src=fid44827" target="_blank">DriveThruRPG</a> as well! Third party creators who're reading this, feel free to leave a comment on this post to advertise your compatible content. </p><p>Part 1 of <i>Expanding Icewind Dale </i>focuses on <i><b>Frozen Sick.</b> </i>This adventure is from the <i>Explorer's Guide to Wildemount</i>, but was made available for free on <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/" target="_blank">dndbeyond</a> and <a href="https://roll20.net/" target="_blank">roll20</a> (in the latter case including all the tokens, maps etc. fully integrated into the virtual tabletop). As such, it can be integrated into your campaign without the need to buy anything. Although it can slot into <i>Icewind Dale </i>surprisingly well, it takes more effort to adapt. This post therefore includes my outline for an alternative version of the adventure.</p><p>Part 2 will cover <i style="font-weight: bold;">Dragon of Icespire Peak </i>(from the <i>Essentials Kit</i>),<b> </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl </i>(from <i>Tales from the Yawning Portal</i>)<i>, and </i><i style="font-weight: bold;">Berg of the Frost Giants </i>(from <i>Storm King's Thunder</i>).</p><p><br /></p>
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<i><br /></i><div><h1 style="text-align: left;"><i>Frozen Sick</i></h1><div>You might be wondering how an adventure set in Matthew Mercer's campaign world Exandria could fit into a <i>Forgotten Realms </i>campaign like <i>Icewind Dale</i>. In fact, <i>Frozen Sick </i>fits in with the themes and events of <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden</i> like a hand to a glove... provided we amputate its frostbitten fingers down to the knuckle.</div><div><br /></div><div>You see, <i>Frozen Sick </i>is set in a similar wintry region, and it concerns a magical sickness spread after the discovery of a laboratory that fell from an ancient, flying city named Aeor. Sound familiar? It ought to: Ythryn can easily replace Aeor in this narrative. </div><div><br /></div><div>Adapting the adventure does take some work though. I recommend skipping most of the adventure as written, since it's designed to take characters from level 1 to 3. We already have plenty of options in <i>Rime of the Frostmaiden </i>to level the party, so the adaptation of <i>Frozen Sick </i>should amount to a side quest at most. Cutting some of the content also means less conversion, since we don't have to find as many substitutes. </div><div><br /></div><div>My version of the adventure follows. It introduces the party to victims of a magical disease called frigid woe, then gets the player characters quickly to Salsvault where they'll find the cure. It's suitable for a level 2 or level 3 party of adventurers.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Adventure Background</h2><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A pair of dwarven explorers recently auctioned off two mysterious blue vials at the Town Hall in Easthaven.</li><li>A half-elf merchant named Lera Farran bought the vials. She kept them at her home, planning to identify and sell them at a later date. </li><li>Believing the vials to have come from the lost Netherese enclave he sought, the wizard Dzaan hired a thief to steal them (before he was caught and executed, obviously!)</li><li>The thief, a halfling named Tinson Ladlelick, was caught in the act after breaking into the Farran home. He escaped but without his prize: worse, one of the vials broke in the chaos. It infected him as well as Lera, and her family.</li><li>The dwarven explorers returned to the ruin where they found the vials. They have since found an additional sample, but accidentally broke it and became sick themselves.</li></ul><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">Adventure Hooks</h2></div><div><div>The player characters can be pulled into this adventure in one or both of the following ways:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Rumours. </i></b>The Farran family have had their mysterious sickness for nearly a month. No herbalist or priest has had any luck identifying the illness or curing them. Their condition is grist for the rumour mill, and there is even talk that the Farrans have come under a curse. The player characters may hear this rumour around Easthaven, or even elsewhere in Ten-Towns. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Frozen Thief. </i></b>Tinson also contracted the sickness, but has been laying low for fear of being caught. He suspects he would become the next sacrifice to Auril as punishment for the attempted theft. However, he eventually becomes so ill he leaves his hideyhole, desperate for help. The PCs encounter the halfling stumbling down an otherwise quiet street in Easthaven. He trips and falls, his hood dislodging as he does to reveal a face covered in prominent, ghastly blue veins. Tinson is in the final stage of frigid woe, and ice is already beginning to encase him. He manages to get out only a few words through chattering before he is completely frozen within ice: “H-h-h-h-help....c-c-c-curse…. t-t-the…. F-farrans!”</div><div><br /></div><div>When the characters ask around, they quickly learn who the Farrans are and where to find their house. </div></div><div><br /></div><h2>Act 1: The Farran House</h2><div><div>The door is answered by Ted Tunn, a human commoner who does odd jobs for the Farrans. He has answered the door on behalf of his wife Rae, who is employed as the maid and is presently nursing the Farrans. Ted’s mother-in-law Gertie White is the Farran family’s cook, and is busy in the kitchen. The entire family have rallied round to care for their employers in their time of need. </div><div><br /></div><div>Immediately sizing the characters up as adventurers, Ted is quick to try and enlist their aid in dealing with the mystery sickness. He invites them in and leaves them briefly alone. He and Rae appear again shortly thereafter, supporting a half-orc woman who is showing late stage symptoms of frigid woe. Brunhilde Farran is Lera Farran’s spouse. She has resisted the sickness slightly better than her wife and their adopted tiefling daughter, Lucy, and is the only one in even a remotely fit state to receive a visitor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Brunhilde offers 700 gold pieces to the party if they can find a cure for the sickness, and is prepared to pay 200 in advance (she is desperate, so the amount is negotiable). If pressed even slightly, she will also offer a gold necklace inlaid with tourmalines worth a further 300 gp. </div></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Clues</h3><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Brunhilde can explain about the theft since she was with Lera when they surprised Tinson in the act. She also knows that her wife acquired the vials from an auction at the Town Hall. Ted Tunn has already made inquiries there and learned that the sellers were a pair of dwarves named Orvo Mustave and Urgon Wenth. Unfortunately the dwarves don’t live locally - they're treasure hunters that explore Icewind Dale for ruins to salvage. They come to Easthaven from time to time to auction off their treasures.</li><li>After leaving the Farran household the following can be learned either by talking to officials at the town hall’s administrative office (T2 on the campaign’s map of this location) or by asking around town and eventually finding some associates of the dwarves at the Wet Trout tavern:</li><ul><li>Last time they were in town, Orvo and Urgon were excited about a new find out on the edge of the Sea of Moving Ice, somewhere North of Lonelywood. They set back out after staying a week in Easthaven, taking a dog-sled that was so overladen with supplies the dwarves are unlikely to return any time soon. </li></ul></ul><br /></div><div><h3>Treating the Farrans</h3></div><div>Player characters may seek to help the Farrans directly. While the party has no means to cure the frigid woe, they might make Wisdom (Medicine) attempts or try casting spells. At your discretion these can offer some relief and delay the fatal consequences of the sickness for up to an additional seven days.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Act 2: Finding Orvo</h2><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">On The Trail</h3><div>The dwarven explorers went via Lonelywood, and the party can pick up their trail there by talking to town speaker Nimsy Huddle. The dwarves stayed in her attic on the way through town. She doesn’t know much about why the pair were headed North. Nimsy does know they’ve come and gone that way once already before their recent stay. She also overheard them talking about somewhere they called the Hook.</div><div><br /></div><div>From Lonelywood it's relatively easy to find the sled tracks left by the dwarves. Since people seldom leave Lonelywood to the North, the signs of their passage are still very clear. No check is required.</div><div><br /></div><div>If the party bypass Lonelywood they can make a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check to find the trail of the dwarves. On a failed check they do eventually find sled tracks, but lose 1d3 + 1 days to the search, during which time they should have at least one wilderness encounter.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><h3>Orvo</h3></div><div><div>The player characters finally find the camp of the dwarves on the inside curve of a crescent-like spit of land jutting out into the Sea of Moving Ice. A single dwarf sits by a crackling fire. Even through his thick furs, it’s obvious he is shivering violently. Nearby lies a second dwarf entombed in ice. </div><div><br /></div><div>The shivering dwarf is Orvo. He and Urgon were exposed to frigid woe approximately 2 weeks ago after they found a third vial and accidentally broke it while exploring Salsvault. The extreme cold has allowed the sickness to progress more rapidly, and Urgon succumbed to it just a day ago. Orvo himself shows late stage symptoms. </div><div><br /></div><div>You’ll need to refer to “Orvo’s Story” in the section entitled “Syrinla”. Ignore all geographic points of reference in Orvo’s Story, as well as references to Aeor and the Buyer. The following changes should also be made to the information Orvo can provide:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Salsvault is a Netherese ruin partially submerged in water.</li><li>The ruin can be found at the tip of the Hook, not far from Orvo’s camp.</li><li>Salvault appears to have been a Netherese lab.</li><li>Orvo and Urgon auctioned off the treasures they previously collected in Easthaven. </li></ul><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="goog_1379584470"><img alt="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1700" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8JRMlCge7Uk/X3smDKTbdqI/AAAAAAAAP0I/GMO1w2OlfyEcOtJrrODlMaFwq4jIUadLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1700/02-021.dwarf%255B1%255D.png" title="Image copyright Wizards of the Coast" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span>(</span><i>Image copyright <i>Wizards of the Coast</i></i><span>)<br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="goog_1379584470"><br /></a></div><a href="http://"><br /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><h3>Act 3: Salvault</h3></div></div></div><div><div>Salsvault is near Orvo’s camp, so you can skip the section entitled “Into the Wilds” and jump straight to “Approaching Salsvault”. </div><div><br /></div><div>Run the dungeon as is, though any mention of Aeor should be considered a reference to the Netherese city of Ythryn instead. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><h2>Epilogue</h2></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Returning with a Cure</h3><div><div>If Orvo is cured, he is still weak. He returns with the player characters if they allow him to do so.</div><div><br /></div><div>As long as the party return to Easthaven within fourteen days, none of the Farrans have died. Otherwise, both Lera and Lucy have passed away before the cure can reach them. If the player characters made efforts to treat the Farrans before leaving, you can give them an additional week’s grace period. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><h3>Rewards</h3></div><div><div>In addition to the promised payment, the party can gain another benefit if they were kind to Brunhilde and didn’t take advantage of her, and provided Lera and Lucy survive. </div><div><br /></div><div>In her gratitude, Lera asks the party to come to her whenever they need to conduct business in Easthaven. She can provide many mundane items from her own stock or else broker deals on their behalf. Provided the party goes through Lera for their purchases in Easthaven, they buy all items at a 15% discount. This is reduced to 5% after the chardalyn dragon attacks (see below). </div></div><div><br /></div><div><h3>Dragon Scourge!</h3></div><div>The Farran and Tunn families are among the survivors of the chardalyn dragon’s attack on Easthaven in Chapter 4, but their home and store are destroyed. Lera regretfully can only offer a 5% discount while rebuilding her business, and it takes her longer to source less common items. The Farrans are respected in the community, and while Lera prefers to focus on rebuilding her business Brunhilde could be a candidate to replace Speaker Waylen. </div><div><br /></div><div><h2>Bonus Content: Croaker Cave</h2></div><div>While not used in the adventure outline above, Croaker Cave would fit right in during Chapter 2 as an additional place of interest your players might choose to visit. I’d personally put the cave on the Northern edge of Maer Dualdon. You can simply remove the three bandits from this dungeon, or perhaps replace them with thematic monsters of equivalent CR. To use the cave at a later level, consider making it the lair of a slaad (type depending on party level). This slaad is able to taken on a humanoid form, and has taken to attacking and infecting people in Ten-Towns. It might even be the cause of a player character’s secret...</div></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 style="text-align: left;">Part 2: Of Dragons and Giants</h1></div><div><a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2020/10/5e-expanding-icewind-dale-part-2.html" target="_blank">Find part 2 of this series here.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-67814572130053604692020-05-13T17:26:00.000+01:002020-05-13T17:30:10.524+01:00D&D Review! Archetypes of EberronToday I'm reviewing <i>Archetypes of Eberron</i>, a book chock-full of new class options for D&D 5e characters.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Cover (</span><i style="font-size: 12.8px;">Archetypes of Eberron</i><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">)</span></td></tr>
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<h2>
Value </h2>
<i>Archetypes of Eberron </i>is 54 pages long, incluing its cover and credits and contents pages. It contains 31 new archetypes with 2 or 3 for each <i>Player's Handbook </i>class and the Artificer. It's $14.95 normally, which is already great value for the amount of fun you and your group might get out of playing these archetypes in campaigns and one-shots going forward. If you pick it up now the price will only be $11.96 in the Play it Forward Sale, and best of all the cost of your sale will all go direct to the creators during this event.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Contents (<i>Archetypes of Eberron</i>)<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both;">
Quality</h2>
There's not much to say here chiefly because there's nothing to criticize! The book is beautifully presented, with some gorgeous art and attractive, clean design.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Divine Sniper Rogue (<i>Archetypes of Eberron</i>)</td></tr>
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<h2 style="clear: both;">
Content</h2>
Archetypes of Eberron has a single purpose: new class options for your Eberron characters! As such, it has rather a lot of them. 31 new archetypes, to be precise. Some are conversions from prior editions, while others are new concepts. It would be highly impractical - and likely very boring to read - for me to provide detailed analysis of every archetype in detail. Instead I'll summarise the new options and give my overall impressions of this sourcebook's balance and benefit to your Eberron games.<br />
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The new archetypes in this book break down as follows:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b><i>Artificer specialist options</i>:</b></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Crystal Shaper.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>These artificers are specialists in the mystical properties of gemstones. The archetypes borrows inspiration from 3.5's psion, particularly the shaper discipline and ability to create psicrystals. Crystal Shapers can temporarily removing some of their emotions and store them in crystals to gain specific advantages from their absence. The emotions can also be released from where they are stored to augment spellcasting, or used to shape a crystalline astral construct.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Disruptor. </i></b>A type of artificer specialising in war, and excelling at battlefield preparation and control. Disruptors create explosives called "blast disks" which they can can either throw (exploding on impact) or prime to blow up when creatures move into proximity. The Disruptor can make ten different varieties of blast disk, each of which deals a different type of damage and has a unique secondary effect. </li>
<li><i style="font-weight: bold;">War Weaver. </i>These artificers are also experts in war, but their role is to support and facilitate cohesion among allied forces. They can weave a magical network called an eldritch tapestry which provides a number of ways which the artificer can aid creatures included in the weave. Higher level war weavers can even extend single target spell affects to other creatures in the eldritch tapestry, or target creatures in their tapestry with the <i>contingency</i> spell.</li>
</ul>
<li><b><i>Artificer infusions</i>:</b> 7 new options are available as infusions! There are some fun new choices here. Did you ever want a third, mechanical arm? </li>
<li><i><b>Barbarian Primal Paths:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Path of the Feral Heart.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>This path is themed around the idea of a non-specific feral "beast" inside, as opposed to the specific animal choices of the beast totem. Its features involve taking on aspects of the beast, including physical shape changes. As such, it's a good archetype for a Shifter character if the player wants to expand on their powers, or perhaps to model a player character lycanthrope in a balanced way.</li>
<li><i style="font-weight: bold;">Path of the Rage Mage. </i>Barbarians of this path have somehow tapped into a source of chaos magic. This manifests in the ability to wield pact magic, like a warlock. Naturally, Rage Mages may cast their spells while raging and can use their spellcasting to maintain a rage. I've grappled with the concept of a spellcasting barbarian myself, and pact magic is as good a solution as any! </li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Bard Colleges:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>College of Revelation.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>These are bards whose minds have touched Xoriat, commonly known as the Plane of Madness, but to those who have touched it the Plane of Revelations. Their features are themed around knowledge, though that knowledge is not always welcome, and there may be a price to pay.</li>
<li><i style="font-weight: bold;">College of Spies. </i>Bards of this college are consummate infiltrators. They can spend a Bardic Inspiration to cast a spell without somatic components and weave its verbal components imperceptibly into normal conversation. I absolutely love this. Other features are themed around disguise and persuasion.</li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Cleric Domains:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Change Domain.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Clerics of change tend to serve gods of chaos. They gain access to limited bard-like magic, can use their Channel Divinity to make enemies redirect their attacks on new targets, and otherwise harness chaotic energies.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Exorcism Domain.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>This is the domain for you if you want to drive undead and fiends interloping on the material plane. Clerics of this domain are somewhat militant, cannot be possessed, and can help other creatures end charm effects and possession. They can also repel fiends with their Channel Divinity.</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Hearth Domain<span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></i></span><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>This domain encompasses the safety and security of a home and the love and support of community. A Hearth Domain cleric in the party means much more efficient Hit Dice healing, as well as various kinds of protection. </li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Druid Circles:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Circle of Civilization.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>An unusual concept for a druid circle! These druids acknowledge humanoids' place in nature and bridge the gap between the natural world and civilisation. These druids are experts at moving through a city and interacting with its people, and can even move through worked stone like other druids might move through trees. High level druids of this circle can even animate a statue or building to fight on their behalf!</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Circle of Eberron.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Druids of this circle commune with the world itself, rather than merely the nature that thrives upon it. They summon "beasts" of plant matter and earth, and at higher levels can transform into a similar dragon-like entity called a twilight guardian. Eberron herself provides energy that replaces their need for common material components.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Circle of Storms.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>The druids of this circle respect and channel the power of storms. They themselves are fierce, warrior-like, and they can expend wild shapes to channel the storm's power through their own bodies.</li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Martial Archetypes:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Combat Medic.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Fighters of this archetype are light-armoured, nimble warrior-healers, and in terms of game mechanics they're the divine to the Eldritch Knight's arcane. They are rewarded for healing their allies with boosts to their own damage, and can even evacuate creatures magically from the battlefield.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Marshal.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>This is a take on the popular "warlord" concept, and it fills that niche well. It has a number of ways to buff allies, but not in a way that prevents the fighter from being an active and effective damage dealer (features either just enhance a fighter class ability or require a bonus action or reaction, never an action).</li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Monastic Traditions:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Way of the Conduit.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>These monks channel the spirits of the deceased, embracing their wisdom and borrowing their power. The spirits they channel can enhance their blows, let them hurl eldritch energies, shield them from harm, or enhance their prowess in either diplomacy or deceit.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Way of the Tashalatora.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>This monastic tradition seeks enlightenment through honing mind as well as body: monks of this tradition are psionically powerful. They can touch the minds of others and subtly alter the flow of time.</li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Sacred Oaths:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Oath of the Bone Knight.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>The Bone Knights are paladins who are specialists in controlling the undead. There is some thematic overlap here with the Oathbreaker (the Oath Spells table is fairly similar, for instance, and the Seize Control Channel Divinity is similar to Control Undead, only it lets you affect multiple undead but limits their maximum CR). However, the archetype features are different and more focused on the undead theme than "Evil" in general—in fact, there's nothing in the features that explicitly links a Bone Knight to an Evil alignment. </li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Oath of the Hell Knight.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>These Paladins serve fiends. While their tenets put an emphasis on power and control, the Paladin themselves needn't be monstrously evil, provided their patron doesn't demand horrifying acts of loyalty. In the lore for Eberron, they're agents of a trio of legendary hags. Their features have the sort of flavour you'd expect, such as supernatural social influence, magical resilience, as well as n Oath Spell list inspired by special features of hags.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Bone Knight Paladin (<i>Archetypes of Eberron</i>)<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i><b>Ranger Archetypes:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Extreme Explorer.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Rangers of this archetype relish danger, and specialise in adventuring within the most extreme locations. The archetype's name might give the impression that its features will be about environmental adaptability, but it actually emphasises the ranger's daring. It's not about the ranger possessing additional survival skills, but rather their having the good fortune and grit to survive their extreme adventures.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Guerilla.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>A Ranger of this archetype is an expert in stealth, poisons, and hit-and-run tactics. Thematically, it's a way to get a little bit of Rogue chocolate in your Ranger peanut butter, the same way the Scout lets you mix some Ranger peanut butter with your Rogue chocolate. </li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Roguish Archetypes:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Divine Sniper.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>A slightly odd concept, this: the flavour text for this archetype says it "specializes in getting in, eliminating their target, and getting out", but the implication that they do shady things for their Church, operating in the shadows seems somewhat at odds with their powers which create or otherwise rely on bright, radiant light. Not exactly helpful in a stealth situation! Honestly, I think a radiant-wielding archer would be a better fit for a Paladin archetype. But misalignment between story and mechanics aside, the features of this archetype are fun and solid.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Soulknife.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>A classic, well-loved class reimagined as a rogue archetype. Soulknives can shape blades of psionic energy which they wield in melee or throw at enemies. As they gain levels, they can use their psionic weapons to impart psionic effects on their targets. I've seen a few takes on 5e soulknives, and this one is my favourite from among those attempts. </li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Sorcerous Origins:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Blood Magus.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>At some point in their past, a Blood Mage was briefly dead, and their return to the living has given them the drive to understand the innate powers within their blood so as to escape . The connection between return from death and blood magic makes sense specifically within Eberron's: Blood Mages may be affiliated with the Blood of Vol, a faction who believe their own blood holds divine power which if studied and understood can help them create their own afterlife rather than spend eternity in the grey wastes of Dolurrh. Fortunately, nothing about this archetype's features is mechanically tied to the death theme, so is story can be reworked for other settings. A Blood Magus can expend hit points to empower spells, recover hit points with stored blood, and even create a "blood elemental" or use pools of blood to magically travel.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Cataclysm Mage.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>These sorcerers derive their power from the cataclysms of the past, and may not necessarily be descended from a bloodline living at that time: some acquire their powers after learning too much about these ancient histories, or might manifest after a vision or even spontaneously. A Cataclysm mage is obsessed with learning more about these events and sees visions of future disasters; but are they the solution, or they perhaps the cause? After all, their own powers corrupt, and rip the fabric of reality. Some great story potential with this one, though its tied quite closely to Eberron's lore. If you want to use it in another setting, you'll have to make a few minor changes. </li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Wilder.</i></b><i> </i>The Wilder is a psionic archetype which draws power from emotions. Emotions, being volatile, mean that a Wilder's power is prone to surges of unpredictable power. The Wilder can increase the power of their spells but takes the risk of losing such a spell altogether. Their chaotic psionic energy shields their mind like static, and eventually lets them shift between spaces. If you like the idea of a slightly unpredictable spellcaster but aren't keen on the often goofy implementation of the Wild Magic sorcerer, or its capacity to cause trouble to allies, not just itself, the Wilder might be an ideal archetype for you. </li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Warlock Patrons:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>The Elemental.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Warlocks of this type bind an elemental to themselves, and draw from its power. Their mastery over the elements gives them the ability ignore resistance to the energy type associated with their element, resist it themselves, "teleport" by flowing through the elemental energy inherent to all planes, and create explosive elemental motes. </li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>The Hidden One.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>This archetype binds you to a patron who observes and manipulates the lives of lesser, mortal creatures. You become their agent in the world. This archetype uses Intelligence for its warlock abilities in place of Charisma, and has features themed around knowledge acquisition, self-preservation, as well as discovering or creating weaknesses. </li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>The Soulborn.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Soulborn are bound to the spirit of a deceased warrior (or perhaps multiple warriors) of the past. As such, they're a combat-focused archetype. They can add their Charisma bonus to AC while wearing no armour, have the ability to add effects to their attacks, and can ultimately channel the incarnate might of their ancestor. As with the Hexblade, there'd be nothing stopping you re-skinning this archetype to make a melee warlock of another type of patron.</li>
</ul>
<li><i><b>Wizard Schools:</b></i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Cult of the Alienist.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Alienists study the daelkyr and other denizes of Xoriat, the Plane of Madness. In other settings, they might delve into the forbidden secrets of the Far Realm. The touch of that realm upon them embeds a symbiotic entity within their body, and their body becomes gradually more aberrant.Higher level alienists can also summon aberrations through use of the new <i>conjure aberrations</i> spell.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>School of Living Spells.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>These wizards make a study of the phenomenon of living spells, magics which have gained permanence and will. They can create a living cantrip familiar, which they can empower further as they grow in their own personal power. Students of this school can feed their magic to their familiar to restore it, and even learn to absorb other magics. Ultimately, they can capture living spells and use their bound magic to cast the equivalent spell.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Alienist Wizard (<i>Archetypes of Eberron</i>)<br />
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Whew! 31 archetypes is a hefty collection. In any selection of this size, some are bound to excite you more or less than others, but your preferences will no doubt be different than mine. In terms of design and balance, these are all winners, and I didn't see anything that screamed balance issues. I'd happily let a player pick any one of them. So whatever your tastes, you're likely to find that the majority of these archetypes offer something worthwhile.<br />
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Final Thoughts and Rating</h2>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TxyIUIl7K6Q/XrwRum1debI/AAAAAAAAPWM/QTqGtYp9GFELBAO3ONxy_nt55YwR1RkCACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScoreD6_6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TxyIUIl7K6Q/XrwRum1debI/AAAAAAAAPWM/QTqGtYp9GFELBAO3ONxy_nt55YwR1RkCACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScoreD6_6.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2WLERWsQ3rU/XrwR4dYXt5I/AAAAAAAAPWY/TxwI6GH8-v0VnHlYx4w2khbBi905jdiKQCK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D10_10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2WLERWsQ3rU/XrwR4dYXt5I/AAAAAAAAPWY/TxwI6GH8-v0VnHlYx4w2khbBi905jdiKQCK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D10_10.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>= </b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3UBm5KcY3ig/XrwSAthQd3I/AAAAAAAAPWo/sgDXUBGTpuI9j8R2lsAN_PaWniybvm06ACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D20_20.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3UBm5KcY3ig/XrwSAthQd3I/AAAAAAAAPWo/sgDXUBGTpuI9j8R2lsAN_PaWniybvm06ACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D20_20.jpg" width="120" /></a> </td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>20 out of 20! A critical hit!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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Well there you have it: my first natural 20. I'm not saying this product is perfect<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-family: "ddg_proximanova" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_0" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_1" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_2" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_3" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_4" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_5" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_6" , "proxima nova" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "segoe ui" , "nimbus sans l" , "liberation sans" , "open sans" , "freesans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;">—</span>I don't really believe in "perfect"<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-family: "ddg_proximanova" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_0" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_1" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_2" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_3" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_4" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_5" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_6" , "proxima nova" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "segoe ui" , "nimbus sans l" , "liberation sans" , "open sans" , "freesans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;">—</span>but it's close. At the very least, I can't find anything worth criticising!<br />
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If you like Eberron, pick up this product. If you like new character options, pick up this product. And if you can budget for it, pick it up by the 17th of this month so you can take advantage of its discount and give back more to its creators thanks to the Play it Forward event!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/300707/Archetypes-of-Eberron-31-Subclasses?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank"><i>Archetypes of Eberron</i></a> is available on DMsGuild now!<br />
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<pre style="text-align: center;"><input onclick="window.open('https://www.dmsguild.com/product/300707/Archetypes-of-Eberron-31-Subclasses?affiliate_id=1048363','_blank'); return false;" type="button" value="get it here" /></pre>
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spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-50806319499624051592020-05-02T21:29:00.003+01:002020-05-02T21:30:09.811+01:00New D&D release! The Patron Primer Spilled Ale Studios has just released <i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/312119/The-Patron-Primer" target="_blank">The Patron Primer</a></i>, a comprehensive listing of canonical <i>Forgotten Realms</i> entities for your characters to revere, entreat, descend from, challenge, and make pacts with!<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/312119/The-Patron-Primer" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5R9IImiiasE/Xq3Xr4zOH4I/AAAAAAAAPSM/ycg_8BWifxgN2Vf38L6S7haiy-98DXxkgCK4BGAsYHg/s320/Patron_Primer_Cover_Thumb.png" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/312119/The-Patron-Primer" target="_blank"><i>The Patron Primer</i><br /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Please consider purchasing <i>The Patron Primer </i>during the DMsGuild's Play it Forward Event between the 4th to 17th of May. Half of our publisher profits during this event will be donated to the Charities Aid Foundation Emergency Fund, which is helping smaller UK charities weather the impact of Covid-19 on their operations. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-11458876775560142742020-04-12T10:04:00.007+01:002020-04-12T10:24:49.365+01:005e: Optional Rules - Defend and Give CoverThis optional rule module introduces two new options for characters in combat: the Defend action and the Give Cover reaction.<div><br /></div><div>Briefly, the Defend action lets a player character watch over an ally and be ready to interpose themselves between that ally and a threat. When a characters does so, they become the new target of the incoming attack, and possibly additional attacks that occur afterwards, in place of the original target. </div><div><div><br /></div><div>For when things get really desperate, the Give Cover reaction lets a character leap bodily into harm's way to protect a near-dead ally without prior preparation to guard them via the Defend action. Because of this the character giving cover can't take the time or caution to defend <b>themselves </b>against the incoming blow: they protect their ally, but the attack automatically hits <b>them </b>instead.<div><br /></div><div>The full rules for these two new options are presented below, and a discussion of potential implications for class features with similar effects follows. </div><div><br /></div>
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<h2>Defend</h2>
The Defend action is a variation of the ready action, and works in a similar way. However, it has its own rules that handle a specific trigger and the reaction to that trigger. When you take the Defend action, you choose a creature or object within 10 feet of you that you can see.
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If the chosen creature or object is targeted by an attack originating from a source that you can see while they are within 10 feet of you, you may spend your reaction to move adjacent to them but must make this choice before the attack roll is made. During your movement you may also exchange places with the defended creature, costing 5 feet of your movement to do so. If the triggering attack is a melee attack you must also end this movement adjacent to the attacker. If the triggering attack is a ranged attack, you must end your movement in a position that partially blocks line of sight to the target.
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When you spend your reaction to defend the chosen creature the triggering attack is resolved against your AC instead of the AC of the creature you're defending, and you take any damage caused by the attack in place of its original target. If the triggering attack is a melee attack, is not a critical hit, and you're wielding a melee weapon or a shield or your unarmed attacks deal 1d4 or higher damage, you can make a melee attack roll as part of the same reaction to try and block the attack. If your attack roll is higher than the triggering attack's result, then its damage is halved.
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<h2>Give Cover</h2>
As a reaction, you throw yourself bodily in the way of an attack intended for an adjacent creature. You may use this reaction even after the attack is rolled, but you can only give cover against a melee attack if the space you occupy is within the attacker's reach, and you can only give cover against a ranged attack if you partially block the attacker's line of sight to their target. As part of this reaction, you may move 5 feet but can only do so if it moves you into a valid position from which to give cover.
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The attack automatically hits you instead of the original target, and you suffer the attack's damage as normal. The attacker still rolls a d20 to see if the attack is a critical hit, but in this case the result is not compared to your AC and a roll of natural 1 is not considered an automatic miss.
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<div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Implications</h2><div>The Defend action and Give Cover reaction presented above have some conceptual and mechanical overlap with a couple of existing features, discussed below:</div></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Protection Fighting Style (Fighter, Paladin)</h3><br />
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When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
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<br /><div>This is very much in the same conceptual space. However, a character with the Protection fighting style will still find it useful compared to the Defend action, since they don't have to spend their action and wait and see what happens in order to meaningfully protect someone. It's also a superior choice for the warrior compared to Give Cover, which would result in them automatically taking damage, but that can still be in the their arsenal should things get desperate and they want a way to shield an ally that's a sure thing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Still, many people already consider the Protection style to be one of the weaker fighting style options, and it might be considered devalued further if alternatives are introduced that any character can use. All things considered, I believe that it would be appropriate to extend the benefits of the Protection style to when the character uses the Defense action, causing the triggering attack to be rolled with disadvantage against the Fighter or Paladin's AC. If you like this change, replace Protection's text with the new version below:</div><div> </div>
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When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. In addition, when you ready the defend action and use your reaction to take it, the attack roll that triggers your reaction is rolled with disadvantage. You must be wielding a shield to gain either benefit of this feature.
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<br /><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Spirit Shield (Path of the Ancestral Guardian Barbarian)</h3><br />
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[...]the guardian spirits that aid you can provide supernatural protection to those you defend. If you are raging and another creature you can see within 30 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to reduce that damage by 2d6.
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When you reach certain levels in this class, you can reduce the damage by more: by 3d6 at 10th level and by 4d6 at 14th level.</div></div>
</div><div><br /></div><div>This occupies a similar role in terms of reducing damage taken by an ally. However, it remains relevant because it doesn't unlike Defend it doesn't spend the barbarian's action, which is better spent on rage-fueled attacks. It also doesn't result in the barbarian taking damage themselves, and it can protect an ally up to 30 feet away. Defend and Give Cover simply give the barbarian new tactical options: when an ally is particularly weak, or being targeted by a very strong enemy, the barbarian might prefer the Defend action as it gives them to redirect damage in its entirety rather than simply reduce it, and soak it using their larger hit point pool and raging damage resistance. Likewise, a barbarian can Give Cover in the knowledge that the damage they suffer will be minimised.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Other Features</h3></div><div><b>Channel Divinity: Rebuke the Violent </b>(Oath of Redemption Paladin) and <b>Opportunist</b> (Way of Shadow Monk) are both examples of reactions that are triggered by an ally being attacked, however as in both other cases these features require only a reaction, and the end result of both features is damage to the attacker rather than defense of the target. They therefore don't directly correlate to Defend or Give Cover and are not particularly impacted by the inclusion of these new options. </div><div><div> </div></div></div>spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-13775444774715080422020-04-11T11:29:00.003+01:002020-04-26T15:04:43.283+01:00D&D Review! A Manse of Special Purpose<div><b><i>EDIT 12/04/2020: I've been advised by the author that A Manse of Special Purpose did undergo a round of corrections in March, so be aware that some or all of the editorial errors referenced in this review may already be resolved.</i></b></div><div><br /></div>Today's post is a review of <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/298030/A-Manse-of-Special-Purpose?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank"><i>A Manse of Special Purpose</i></a>, a tier 3 adventure by Jake Friday. Since the product is an adventure, the review cannot be considered completely spoiler-free. Therefore, non-DMs may wish to stop reading. <br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/298030/A-Manse-of-Special-Purpose?affiliate_id=1048363" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BTA2i06plYU/XpGLvgGvluI/AAAAAAAAPKw/c2_NLF8mHhowlBujU-p-azyMA2efhV9ugCK4BGAsYHg/s640/AMoSP%2BCover%2B300dpi.jpg" width="489" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>A Manse of Special Purpose - cover</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h2><span style="font-size: large;">Value</span></h2><i>A Manse of Special Purpose </i>is a 22-page adventure which includes 3 chapters and a 4-page appendix with an adventure flowchart and statblocks. As will be discussed under Quality, the product lacks art or maps, though I didn't keenly feel the lack of either (the adventure lends itself to creative description, and the flowchart helps understand the layout). The price is Pay What You Want, with a suggested price of $2.99. It's worth at least that! <br /><br /><table align="center" style="text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>SCORE OUT OF 4:</b></span></td></tr><tr><td height="20 px"></td></tr><tr><td><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><pre><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5g962gkgpF4/XpGJz1v4HSI/AAAAAAAAPJ4/rlZk8Q-NcDMMvw2PsBCUlGMpSNx3SLfxACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D4_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5g962gkgpF4/XpGJz1v4HSI/AAAAAAAAPJ4/rlZk8Q-NcDMMvw2PsBCUlGMpSNx3SLfxACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D4_3.jpg" width="120" /></a></pre></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2><span style="font-size: large;">Quality</span></h2><br />The design is clean and clear. It looks like a template has probably been used, in that it hews pretty close to the design of official products. As a matter of personal preference I love when third party products have their own identity, but I can't fault anyone for choosing to use a template.<div><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-snxU8Njz3dY/XpGNOoeZ5vI/AAAAAAAAPLY/P-VlvZ-Vk181TmPbta8LUKt3r8AwBUrEACK4BGAsYHg/s640/ExamplePage3.png" width="489" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>A Manse of Special Purpose - Preview.<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>There is no art in the adventure: the only images are two rough and ready diagrams and an adventure flowchart. Art is by no means essential for an adventure to be functional, but it can help break up text and improve reading flow, as well as enrich the experience for the reader and for players whom can be shown pictures of key locations, NPCs, etc. For future endeavours, I would recommend the author to check out the creator packs Wizards of the Coast have made available for free use in DMsGuild products. There are also many very affordable stock art pieces on DriveThruRPG.</div><div><br /></div><div>The lack of images extends to maps: as per the General Notes section the adventure "relies on theater of the mind". </div><div><br /></div><div>There are unfortunately numerous typographical, grammatical, formatting and layout issues interspersed throughout. To be clear, most of them won't prevent you from understanding the text, with a couple of exceptions that require a closer reading (one example: three NPCs at the end of chapter 1 where the NPC names are right-aligned but not otherwise formatted any differently from regularly text, meaning you cannot find where each NPC's section begins at a glance). It'd be well worth another editorial pass with fresh eyes. </div><div><br /></div><div>The author has made a conscious effort to consider the safety of players, recommending safety tools to handle potential triggers within the adventure's horror-themed content, and flagging content warnings throughout the text. In particular, the adventure deals with themes of consent (illustrating the problematic nature of the <i>Modify Memory</i> spell).</div><br /><br /><table align="center" style="text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>SCORE OUT OF 6:</b></span></td></tr><tr><td height="20 px"></td></tr><tr><td><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANls/dGU9NY8fq0I7qva_c8uRFvW_Sr0Cp4zvACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANls/dGU9NY8fq0I7qva_c8uRFvW_Sr0Cp4zvACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><h2><span style="font-size: large;">Content</span></h2><div><i>A Manse of Special Purpose</i> is an adventure for tier 3 (levels 11-16) adventurers. Given some of the extraplanar creatures they might meet, I would recommend erring on the side of caution and waiting until your party is at the higher end of this bracket unless it is particularly large. The adventure sees PCs explore the Anchorin Manse, home of the artifice
Anchorin. Webster is fascinated by the mysteries of the multiverse and built a machine intended to reveal some of the secrets of the cosmos. Instead, it allowed a cosmic horror to pass through into the material plane. </div><div><br /></div><div>The introduction includes a synopsis, general notes about how the adventure has been presented by the designer), a detailed bullet point summary of the adventure background, and finally three possible adventure hooks.</div><div><br /></div><div>The general notes section describes choices the designer has made in how they present the adventure. For instance, they've chosen not to use traditional boxed text. Whether that appeals to you depends how you feel about boxed text! Boxes are instead used in the same manner that other products might use a sidebar: to provide useful notes for the DM. A fine idea, however this format is not used consistently throughout the adventure: for instance on page 3 there is a whole section called Taming the Furniture which is not in boxed text, but probably should be. It explores the designer's thoughts about whether such a result would be possible. The ideas are suggestions, and non-conclusive. Theorising, and in such a conversational tone, seems like prime material for a box/side bar. Since it's in the text of the adventure, it should instead provide explicit rules for how taming the animated objects could be achieved. </div><div><br /></div><div>Pay special attention to the adventure background - it's detailed, and somewhat convoluted. In particular, at one point the primary antagonist is described switching bodies with a lookalike, and is thereafter referred to by the name of his assumed identity in this section and elsewhere in the adventure.</div><div><br /></div><div>As far as the adventure hooks go, they're all adequate for drawing your heroes into the adventure, but one of the three is in my opinion a lot more interesting than the others (it's probably no surprise this one is the most detailed of the options). In any case, you should have little trouble finding a way to draw your players in.</div><div><br /></div><div>The adventure itself is broken into three chapters: </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Chapter 1: The Son, The Fool, and The Phony</h4><div>In the first chapter, the PCs arrive in town to discover it besieged by animated objects with a unique origin that I won't spoil. After overcoming this they meet Eccles, estranged son of Webster Anchorin. He was asked to return by the Mayor because the town has been under attack by furniture from the mans for weeks. Eccles wants to discover the fate of his family and, if the last survivor, collect his inheritance. But he needs the help of adventurers to deal with the dangers present in the manse.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Chapter 2: A Planar Preoccupation</h4><div>In this, the the largest chapter, PCs explore the manse itself. Due to Webster Anchorin's failed planar experiment, the manse has been fragmented across the planes, meaning that as the characters transition from room to room they will also find themselves moving between planes, dealing with environmental consequences of their new environments, and meeting residents and staff of the Anchorin manse who have been transformed by the planar energies connected to the room each was in at the time of the accident. This premise allows the designer to include a varied set of encounters which still feel connected. The adventure has a bunch of cool set pieces which should be a lot of fun for players to interact with. Some of the weirdness borders on the creepy, which is appropriate considering the overall theme of cosmic horror, but the adventure includes some notes on dialing this down if concerned. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P8RqZKN3cMI/XpGShC_4L6I/AAAAAAAAPL8/PjkdzNfn9uoQ3g4k1xBJ5pHl2X67pI5YACK4BGAsYHg/s640/ExamplePages11and12.jpg" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>A Manse of Special Purpose - Preview<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Chapter 3: Leaving Loose Ends</h4><div>In the final chapter your PCs will find their way into the antagonist's laboratory, face the cosmic entity known as the Sentience, and decide what to do with the planar machine: either try to control it, or destroy it. </div></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Appendix</h4><div>Finally, an appendix includes a flowchart which illustrates possible paths through the manse, which is very useful considering there is no map of the interior. The appendix also includes three pages of statblocks. Curiously, the most powerful unique creatures created for the purposes of this adventure were given no CR. To be fair, CR is a pretty inadequate measure in any case, but it's <b>something</b>. You don't even have a rough yardstick here: it's always a good idea to compare their features to the capabilities of your party anyway, but here you'll have to. On paper, I think these creatures have some nasty looking features, but I suspect that the Sentience is a bit of a glass cannon. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ndepWWnoMdA/XpGTQ7PIC1I/AAAAAAAAPMQ/xbpf6p9FZ6AHi1YPdiJuC33V1dE7axDnQCK4BGAsYHg/w350-h400/DiagramAdventureFlowchart.jpg" width="350" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>A Manse of Special Purpose - Adventure Flowchart<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /><br /></div><table align="center" style="text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>SCORE OUT OF 10:</b></span></td></tr><tr><td height="20 px"></td></tr><tr><td><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aH-JRdvova4/XiJPaFeQyMI/AAAAAAAAOWM/ITdUWJ9tVQkhks3jyKtUaN4RmoVJSknqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_7.jpg" width="120" /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both;">Final Thoughts and Rating</h2><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" border="0" style="text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>FINAL SCORE OUT OF 20:</b></span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7" height="20 px"></td></tr><tr><td><pre><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5g962gkgpF4/XpGJz1v4HSI/AAAAAAAAPJ4/rlZk8Q-NcDMMvw2PsBCUlGMpSNx3SLfxACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D4_3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5g962gkgpF4/XpGJz1v4HSI/AAAAAAAAPJ4/rlZk8Q-NcDMMvw2PsBCUlGMpSNx3SLfxACK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D4_3.jpg" width="120" /></a></pre></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANls/dGU9NY8fq0I7qva_c8uRFvW_Sr0Cp4zvACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANls/dGU9NY8fq0I7qva_c8uRFvW_Sr0Cp4zvACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aH-JRdvova4/XiJPaFeQyMI/AAAAAAAAOWM/ITdUWJ9tVQkhks3jyKtUaN4RmoVJSknqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aH-JRdvova4/XiJPaFeQyMI/AAAAAAAAOWM/ITdUWJ9tVQkhks3jyKtUaN4RmoVJSknqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_7.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>= </b></span></td><td><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5rkvsEk45Gs/XpGWQ7lOaII/AAAAAAAAPMw/LNGhuRSbhAYDEWjjisrX9hgpxBUlxiPGwCK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D20_14.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5rkvsEk45Gs/XpGWQ7lOaII/AAAAAAAAPMw/LNGhuRSbhAYDEWjjisrX9hgpxBUlxiPGwCK4BGAsYHg/DiceScore_D20_14.jpg" width="120" /></a> </td></tr><tr><td colspan="7" height="10 px"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><span style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>14 out of 20! A great hit!</em></strong></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><i>A Manse of Special Purpose</i> is a creative and fun adventure! It leaves some things to be desired in terms of editing and presentation, but you should find this leads to only a few comprehension issues. The formatting could easily be cleaned up and comprehension thereby improved, and I do hope the designer takes another pass at it to present this adventure in its best possible light. <br /><br /><b>The final word: </b>An entertaining planar-themed mansion-crawl from the mind of Jake Friday, <i>A Manse of Special Purpose </i>is slightly marred by some issues with formatting and presentation, but these should be easily fixed. And until that update, a careful reading of the text pre-play should clear up any confusions. <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/298030/A-Manse-of-Special-Purpose?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank"><i>A Manse of Special Purpose</i></a><i> </i>is available on DMsGuild now!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><input onclick="window.open('https://www.dmsguild.com/product/298030/A-Manse-of-Special-Purpose?affiliate_id=1048363','_blank'); return false;" type="button" value="get it here" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-66129270844686636612020-03-29T20:21:00.001+01:002020-03-29T20:39:51.906+01:00D&D Review! Amarune's Almanac Volume 2 - The Underdark and Volume 3 - Grasslands of the Realms.It seems like not long ago that I reviewed a then not yet released <i><a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/11/5e-amarunes-almanac-volume-1.html" target="_blank">Amarune’s Almanac Volume 1: Forests of the Realms</a></i>. Yet here we are again with a double feature review for Volumes 2 and 3, both of which have been released since! I can only assume that the creative team have been working on multiple volumes of <i>Amarune's Almanac</i> concurrently. If not, that's one impressive production cycle!<br />
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Volume 2 covers the subterranean realm known as the Underdark. It's not the biome I would have expected to follow forests, necessarily, but it makes sense to get it out of the way early. After all, it's probably the most important and commonly used biome in the context of adventuring environments.<br />
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Volume 3 is all about Grasslands of the Realms: plains, savannas, shrublands, and prairies.<br />
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The fact that I've already reviewed a book in this series is helpful, as there are naturally many similarities between them. The strengths of the previous product are all here too, and similarly things for which I provided criticism are also reflected in these new products. Lack of change on these is understandable: even if the creative team happen to agree with my feedback, they no doubt feel consistency across the series is important. Anyway, long story short, <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/11/5e-amarunes-almanac-volume-1.html" target="_blank">my thoughts on Volume 1</a> hold true here as well and you might like to read that review first.<br />
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For the remainder of this review, I’m going to shorten the titles of these two books to <i>Underdark</i> and <i>Grasslands</i>, respectively. Likewise, <i>Forests</i> will be shorthand for <i>Forests of the Realms</i>. <br />
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<tr> <td><i>Amarune's Almanac: The Underdark</i></td> <td><i>Amarune's Almanac: Grasslands of the Realms</i></td> </tr>
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<h2>
Value </h2>
Like the previous volume, <i>Underdark</i> and <i>Grasslands</i> each cost $9.95. <i>Underdark</i> is 65 pages and <i>Grasslands</i> is 50 pages excluding cover page. Compare to the 48 pages of <i>Forests</i>, which was already great value. These books each feature a similarly wide variety of content: setting lore and locations; archetypes, spells, and other player options; rules for biome-specific flora; creature statblocks; and magic items. <i>Underdark</i> also includes a helpful map of Underdark regions overlaid over the Realms. The production values of the series continues to be very high.<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both;">
Quality</h2>
You can refer to <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/11/5e-amarunes-almanac-volume-1.html" target="_blank">my review of volume 1</a> for comments on quality. This is a series, after all, so things like design, tone, and the like are consistent. Everything I said before holds true here, as does the previous score.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yv0dWfx7-0s/XoDtOuV-pyI/AAAAAAAAPFc/l1TfIyUvMBsjv5Ei7Lvmjys99EnMgmqsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AA3_Page11_RangerConclave.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="699" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yv0dWfx7-0s/XoDtOuV-pyI/AAAAAAAAPFc/l1TfIyUvMBsjv5Ei7Lvmjys99EnMgmqsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AA3_Page11_RangerConclave.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Stormchaser Ranger (<i>Amarune's Almanac: Grasslands of the Realms</i>)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>SCORE OUT OF 6:</b></span></td></tr>
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<h2 style="clear: both;">
Content</h2>
As was the case with <i>Forests</i>, both of these books have a foreword by Ed Greenwood. He is also credited as a member of the writing team for Volume 3! This is undoubtedly a selling point for many.<br />
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The content of the books is naturally similar to Volume 1 in terms of both layout and material. One of the things that surprised me about Volume 1, <i>Forests</i>, was that only 12 pages were given over to introducing the forest biome and describing specific forest locations in the Realms. <i>Underdark</i> gives the same number of pages to describing its biomes and specific locations of note, while <i>Grasslands</i> uses 10 and a half pages for these sections. More space is given over to character options, spells, monsters, magic items, and the series' signature gathering system. However, the lore that is included is excellent and well-researched.<br />
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The following lore sections are included in these books:<br />
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<ul>
<li><i>Underdark</i>:</li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>The introduction.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Amarune introduces herself, explains the concept of the Underdark, describes the faerzress (a form of magical radiation), and clarifies that the Underdark itself is broken up into multiple sub-biomes.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Locations, </i></b>which includes descriptions of five Underdark regions: Araumycos, the Burgeoning Rift, the Firelands, the Glimmersea, and the Sharn Wall. </li>
</ul>
<li><i>Grasslands:</i></li>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>The introduction.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Amarune introduces herself and explains the various types of grasslands.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Locations, </i></b>which includes descriptions of five regions: the Battle of Bones, the Cliffs of Leaping Horses, the Eastern Plains, Mistledale, and the Shining Planes;</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Underdark Map (<i>Amarune's Almanac: The Underdark</i>)</td></tr>
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As I noted in my review for volume 1, the presentation of the lore sections as in-setting travel writing has its pros and its cons. The descriptions are very evocative and inspiring, but the format makes the book less efficient a reference. As before, I recommend you take some notes of any interesting details you want to use as you read, because it'll be a lot easier to refer to those notes later in your planning or in play than have to parse each section all over again every time.<br />
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<h3>
Player Options</h3>
<i>Underdark</i> and <i>Grasslands</i> both include two new archetypes each, new spells, and repeat some additional rules first seen in Volume 1. These additional rules will presumably be reprinted in all future volumes, and include a variant for the Druid's Spellcasting and the Ranger's Natural Explorer.<br />
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<ul>
<li>The Druid's Spellcasting variant lets the druid swap a spell they have prepared for an Environment spell that matches the biome the druid is currently within. They may do so once per short rest by spending 1 minute per spell level in meditation. Environment spells are those printed in <i>Amarune's Almanac </i>(or any other product that adopts the concept) and have an Environment component. Basically, Environment spells can only be cast in particular types of terrain. </li>
<li>A variant for the Ranger's Natural Explorer grants the ranger 4 spells appropriate to the ranger's favoured terrain. Rangers with multiple favoured terrains can swap spell lists every long rest. </li>
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These features are of limited use this early in the series, but their usefulness expands with every volume released. Once the series is complete, Druids and Rangers will have options for every environment they might be adventuring in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IbNGCKFFpPU/XoDt-HKaijI/AAAAAAAAPFo/liPaO8zJVcQpLQ3xYJIVIqfIHkSb-EMowCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/W0R38QA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="699" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IbNGCKFFpPU/XoDt-HKaijI/AAAAAAAAPFo/liPaO8zJVcQpLQ3xYJIVIqfIHkSb-EMowCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/W0R38QA.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Sharnbound (<i>Amarune's Almanac: The Underdark</i>)</td></tr>
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I commented in my previous review that I'd love to see more varied archetypes, rather than merely ticking the Druid and Ranger boxes. It's to be expected, but in my honest opinion is sometimes redundant. It's possible to make a druid suited to most if not all biomes already with existing archetypes, for instance. Admittedly, I do understand the desire to write more interesting environment-themed archetypes than the one-size-fits-all Circle of the Land! Still, I'd love to see some biome-themed archetypes for other classes we wouldn't necessarily expect. If not instead of the Druid and Ranger archetypes, then in addition to! My wish isn't fulfilled by either of the two new volumes sadly, so I won't hold high hopes that this pattern will change going forward. But fingers crossed...<br />
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Another piece of feedback I gave related to Circle Spells: not all Druid archetypes have the Circle Spells feature, and this is why it's very important that the archetypes that do offer these spells include the necessary text to explain how they work. Yet none of the druid archetypes in Volumes 1 through 3 of this series do. I repeat this feedback because I genuinely believe it's a mistake not to correct it. It doesn't seem like good practice to assume prior knowledge on the part of the player, or to require them to refer to another source (in this case a second, official archetype) in order to play their character.<br />
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I'm concerned about this review running over-long, so I'm not going to do a deep analysis on these archetypes as would be my usual habit. Instead, I'll briefly describe them and summarise my thoughts.<br />
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<h4>
<b>The Circle of the Dark (Underdark)</b></h4>
An Underdark-themed druid circle, a concept which puts this archetype into the same narrative space as the Circle of the Land (Underdark). Circle of the Dark does a pretty solid job of separating itself from the Circle of the Land (Underdark) by focusing primarily on the magical nature of the Underdark. An innate divination magic to sense the location of creatures in darkness, and the ability to channel the magical radiation known as Faerzness is fun and on point. If I could change one feature it would be Fungal Infestation, which is a sudden departure from this archetype's brand into thematic territory belonging to the Circle of Spores.<br />
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Features it has in common with the Circle of the Grove previously published in <i>Forests</i> include more powerful beast forms that are native to the biome, and the ability to transmute the land of their biome. Their Faerzness Surge is kind of like the sorcerer's Wild Magic table, triggering whenever use you a Wild Shape in the Underdark or to use your Land Transmutation. The major difference is all of the eight effects (rolled on a d8) are essentially helpful power boosts. At 6th level the Circle of the Dark Druid gains an innate location sense for any creature within 60 feet that would normally be concealed by darkness. This presumably also functions in magical darkness as no distinction is made within the text. This feature is implicitly magical (a type of divination to be precise). I divined this (sorry not sorry) from the fact it can be blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt. These are the same barriers that block many divination spells.<br />
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<h4>
<b>Sharnbound (Underdark)</b></h4>
I was worried the Ranger archetype would be too similar to the Gloom Stalker, but that was unfounded. Sharnbound sell themselves on concept alone: these Rangers patrol a magical barrier known as the Sharn Wall, erected by the aberrations known as sharn to trap a threat that even they feared: the phaerimm. Sharn are composite being made up from the minds of three or more former humanoids. Sharnbound Rangers bond with a dying sharn's life force, becoming a symbiotic entity that grows more aberrant as the ranger becomes strong enough to survive the physical changes. A sidebar here provides a table of d10 personalities for the symbiotic Sharn. You roll three times, one each for every mind in the Sharn's fragmented psyche. Being sharnbound makes you very aberrant: you gain the ability to sprout a black tentacle to make a special grapple, pick up items, or move around the battlefield. The ability to stick to a surface you pull yourself to is incredible tactically, especially for a ranged build. Later, you acquire the ability to become ooze-like and move through tiny gaps and hostile creatures' spaces. As a matter of personal taste I'd prefer it to cost a bonus action or reaction. Turning from a humanoid to an ooze feels like it would take a couple of seconds as a process, not be complete instantaneously.<br />
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The 11th level feature Accelerated Physiology is interesting from a design perspective, because it takes one of the archetype's bonus spells and turns it into a core part of your gameplay. As an aside, I've been experimenting with this sort of thing myself, so I'm excited to see it here! Admittedly, you were probably using <i>haste</i> before. It's too good for a Ranger not to be in your arsenal. But with Accelerated Physiology, if you cast <i>haste</i> on yourself, you can't lose concentration from taking damage, and you are immune to the effects that normally apply when <i>haste</i> ends. This feature also lets you spend your reaction after rolling initiative to immediately cast any of your Sharn Magic bonus spells (which, of course, includes <i>haste</i>). All things considered, this is a pretty incredible feature. Whether it's balanced or not might depend on your campaign's typical adventuring day. For contrast, at 11th level the Gloom Stalker gets an extra attack every turn (but only if they miss one attack, so note that the maximum possible damage cap isn't raised). Leaving aside the tactical advantage of casting a spell when initiative is rolled, you're getting up to 3 minutes (you can cast <i>haste</i> three times) of a bonus attack or other action, +2 AC, advantage on Dexterity and saving throws. It's very rare for a D&D combat to last over a minute, so think about how many combats you normally run.<br />
<br />
This archetype is A+ on theme and fun, but my gut feeling is that it does have the potential to <b>feel</b> overpowered, even if it technically isn't. See its unparalleled ability to use the environment (hit and run tactics through gaps too small for larger sized enemies, sticking to walls and ceilings to rain death upon monsters with no good ranged options, etc.) and combine with the extra damage potential and defensive boosts of <i>haste</i>. I don't think it's breaking anyone's game as long as the DM takes these abilities into consideration, it's just something to be aware of. As is the fact that this archetype is oozing (still not sorry) with mechanical potency and fun gameplay to the extent there could be some frustration for other warriors in the group which possess a less exciting suite of options.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oko-crXSCXM/XoDuBfQQlUI/AAAAAAAAPFs/2MqYYmHYT9Ez8hxlgf3N6VRb3cu6bu4jACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AA3_Page9_DruidCircle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="699" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oko-crXSCXM/XoDuBfQQlUI/AAAAAAAAPFs/2MqYYmHYT9Ez8hxlgf3N6VRb3cu6bu4jACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AA3_Page9_DruidCircle.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Circle of the Plains (<i>Amarune's Almanac: Grasslands</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
<b>The Circle of the Plains (Grasslands)</b></h4>
Like the other two druid circles currently printed in the series, the first level features of this archetype include circle spells, more powerful beast forms, and a land transmutation effect. The archetype's other features are mostly to do with mobility and maneuvering: Plainswalker grants a bonus action Dash and Pack Ambush lets your allied spend their reaction to Hide when you do, using your own Stealth check. The archetype's capstone is the ability to whip up a tornado which can pull in creatures, damage them, and eject them in a random direction. Decent battlefield control!<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Stormchaser (Grasslands)</b></h4>
This ranger is, well, storm-themed. And it's pretty damn cool. Its stormwind surge lets you double your speed temporarily until the start of your next turn, and deal increased damage with lightning or thunder for the duration. Later on at 11th level, you'll eventually pick up what is effectively a compromise between resistance and immunity to those two damage types: while you're only granted resistance, you can spend your reaction to reduce the damage to 0 and recharge stormwind surge. So if you only take thunder or lightning damage once in a round, and you didn't spend your reaction on anything else, you're functionally immune for that round. It's a pretty neat mechanic, though resistance alone to two damage types is very powerful. The rest could be considered too much. Still, how often are you going to fight a creature that only relies on lightning or thunder damage? It's probably fine.<br />
<br />
The 7th level feature summons a steed of lightning, which is metal as hell. You can also grant your benefits from stormwind surge to your steed, which is a great touch. Your steed is upgraded at 15th level, and you gain the ability to summon a localised lightning storm around the steed. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Spellcasting</h3>
Each book has a spellcasting section. In both cases it introduces and explains the concept of an Environment component (this is not new information if you already own volume 1, of course) and each provides 11 new spells across a wide variety of levels. One ritual, Druidic Practice, is reprinted from the first volume. <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/11/5e-amarunes-almanac-volume-1.html" target="_blank">My comments on <i>Druidic Practice</i> can be found in the previous volume's review</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tSknXv8oejs/XoD31EiXxfI/AAAAAAAAPHA/H0DU-ehWBq0mTMB-Wj4IoR_xGbIb5J9RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/JFEMuFk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="699" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tSknXv8oejs/XoD31EiXxfI/AAAAAAAAPHA/H0DU-ehWBq0mTMB-Wj4IoR_xGbIb5J9RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/JFEMuFk.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Spells (<i>Amarune's Almanac: The Underdark</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The spells are fun, flavourful, useful, and seem balanced. <br />
<br />
My favourite of the spells in <i>Underdark</i> are <i>morass</i>, which covers surfaces in the area with a white lichen that can restrain and paralyze; as well as <i>delirium</i>, which generates hallucinogenic spores that interact with the game's optional madness rules. An honourable mention for <i>aphotic armor</i> simply because aphotic is one of my favourite words. I don't quite know why they appeal to me so much, but my favourite spells in <i>Grasslands</i> are those that make use of grass itself in the casting. <i>blade of grass</i> transforms the grass into a sword, while <i>whistling reed</i> creates a magical grass whistle with a high pitched peal which disrupts hearing and can be used to stun.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Between Adventures</h3>
As was the case in <i>Forests</i>, this section of both books includes the rules for the Gathering Plants Expedition downtime activity. To accompany this new activity, both books include 20 flora which includes flowers, fruits, and trees useful for lumber. Descriptions and special rules relating to these flora are included, and tables provide an at-a-glance indicator of where in the Realms each plant might be found, as well as its sale value. These sections are among my favourite parts of <i>Amarune's Almanac </i>series, providing an easy reference for much needed variety in plant growths with which you can populate the fantastic landscapes of your adventures. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nhwiFg1dQVQ/XoDvJ8H0fcI/AAAAAAAAPGE/u9MI6Q0qp9ksK2DDEfminVFSeLwVqtCNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AA3_Page34_Flora.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="699" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nhwiFg1dQVQ/XoDvJ8H0fcI/AAAAAAAAPGE/u9MI6Q0qp9ksK2DDEfminVFSeLwVqtCNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AA3_Page34_Flora.png" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Flora (<i>Amarune's Almanac: Grasslands</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<br />
Appendix</h3>
Each book includes an appendix which is split into two sections: Beasts and Monsters, and Magic Items.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Beasts and Monsters</h4>
This section of <i>Underdark</i> includes 23 new statblocks, associated with a variety of different creature types. This index fills out some iconic Realmsian monster-shaped gaps in the official bestiaries. The descriptions of many monsters in these bestiaries include notes on what resources might be harvested from their corpses. In terms of new beast forms for wild shape, <i>Grasslands</i> is more fertile than <i>Underdark</i>. On the other hand, the larger bestiary of <i>Underdark</i> and its selection of monsters is bound to please any DM. Either way, these sections both excited me a bit more than their equivalent in the first volume.<br />
<br />
Both books provide a table which shows precisely which regions of the Realms or Underdark each monster is most likely to be found in.<br />
<br />
New monsters in <i>Underdark</i> include:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The CR 10 angler worm (a relative of the purple worm that lures curious prey to their dangling light)</li>
<li>The CR 1 azmyth (a variety of strange snake-like bat with the magical abilities to become invisible and discharge lightning)</li>
<li>The CR 1 blasting jelly (an artificial duergar-made slime with explosive properties)</li>
<li>the CR 5 swarm of bloodbites (quipper-like fish that swarm through the air of the underdark, rather than water)</li>
<li>The CR 1 cavvekan (bat-like dogs that Underdark species use as hunting animals)</li>
<li>The CR 4 wyrmling, CR 10 young, CR 17 adult, and CR 24 ancient deep dragon (a burrowing dragon with a dazing brath and the ability to polymorph into snake and humanoid forms)</li>
<li>The CR 16 drowbane (a predatory aberration that hunts by sonar)</li>
<li>The CR 1 fire bat (a bat... that's on fire)</li>
<li>The CR 8 ghaunadan (an ooze servant of the god of abominations, which can shapechange into the form of a drow to walk unnoticed among them)</li>
<li>The CR 2 knell beetle drone and CR 4 knell beetle (a giant bug with a strange sonic trumpet it can use to blast foes with thunderous noise)</li>
<li>The CR 6 lith (a form of psionically crafted earth elemental)</li>
<li>The CR 4 juvenile, CR 9 young, CR 13 adult, and CR 19 elder phaerimm (a race of worm-like aberration sorcerers that can eat magic energy)</li>
<li>The CR 1/4 rockmite and CR 2 swarm of rockmites (silverfish-like giant bugs that can burrow through solid stone)<br />
</li>
<li>The CR 10 sharn (aberrations born from chaos magic and fragmented minds)</li>
<li>The CR 1/2 spore weaver (a variety of spider which have a symbiotic relationship with fungal growths on their bodies</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8p1NjT_1-u0/XoDwQrDrgEI/AAAAAAAAPGc/M7kcc1Baf8MBU-n0qV3QAtvqtMKco60DQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/0Xd32Iv.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="712" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8p1NjT_1-u0/XoDwQrDrgEI/AAAAAAAAPGc/M7kcc1Baf8MBU-n0qV3QAtvqtMKco60DQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/0Xd32Iv.png" width="400" /></a></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6py9quxCAI/XoDwMqV4dyI/AAAAAAAAPGY/owKwHbdSYJIYJMTZ8fFFkxPU0xzcgf6OACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/AA3_Page40_Jaskar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="712" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6py9quxCAI/XoDwMqV4dyI/AAAAAAAAPGY/owKwHbdSYJIYJMTZ8fFFkxPU0xzcgf6OACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/AA3_Page40_Jaskar.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>Angler Worm (<i>Amarune's Almanac: The Underdark</i>)</td><td>Jaskar (<i>Amarune's Almanac: Grasslands of the Realms</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
New monsters in <i>Grasslands</i> include: <br />
<ul>
<li>The CR 2 bison and CR 6 primeval bison (the latter of which is a huge variety that is imbued by primal magic)</li>
<li>The CR 1/8 flower blight (a new type of good-aligned blight)</li>
<li>The CR 3 huuserpent (giant two-headed constrictor snakes)</li>
<li>The CR 3 jaskar (a large variety of vulture, capable of picking up humanoids and dropping them to their deaths)</li>
<li>The CR 18 living tornado (a massive air elemental of evil intent)</li>
<li>The CR 2 pink zebra (a fey trickster that enjoys harassing mortals - but none so much as a mortal that threatens their herd)</li>
<li>The CR 4 razor bulette (a variety of bulette with chitinous blades and wicked bite)</li>
<li>The CR 2 herbivorous and CR 2 carnivorous scathebeast (strange many-eyed herd beasts with an ability to adapt to resist damage taken)</li>
<li>The CR 2 wermic warrior, CR 3 wermic hunter, and CR 6 wermic shaman (a race of lion-centaurs)</li>
<li>The CR 2 zhuruda (magical flightless birds with innate spellcasting that varies based on the colour of their plumage)</li>
</ul>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Magic Items</h4>
<i>Underdark</i> contains 11 magic items, and <i>Grasslands</i> has 10. This section was one of my favourites in <i>Forests</i>, and the same is true of these volumes: each is an excellent collection of fun items to add to your game. A particular favourite from <i>Underdark</i> is Maggris' Bracelet of Summoning, which has a lot of creep factor thanks to its effect of drawing insects and bugs to you, which you can cause to swarm enemies. It also lets you summon giant insects and beetle swarms which you can control. my favourite from <i>Grasslands</i> is probably the Skull of the Stampede, a helmet made from a bison skull which gives you a powerful charge-like stampede ability. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Organisation</h3>
<div>
The volumes of <i>Amarune's Almanac</i> aren't indexed, but most of the content is quite easily referenced through the contents pages. <br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>SCORE OUT OF 10:</b></span></td></tr>
<tr><td height="20 px"></td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpm6bbKfR7E/XoDiSAcclvI/AAAAAAAAPFE/04mOQZmFrykqDPLOMkZLQwtq3BmTF8wjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpm6bbKfR7E/XoDiSAcclvI/AAAAAAAAPFE/04mOQZmFrykqDPLOMkZLQwtq3BmTF8wjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_9.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<h2 style="clear: both;">
Final Thoughts and Rating</h2>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<table align="center" border="0" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>FINAL SCORE OUT OF 20:</b></span></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="7" height="20 px"></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbPUStL1ER8/Xduf9ApVSII/AAAAAAAAN1I/ecFSlnPb13Ul7YL1-w54p_9LTESd2tbCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbPUStL1ER8/Xduf9ApVSII/AAAAAAAAN1I/ecFSlnPb13Ul7YL1-w54p_9LTESd2tbCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScores.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpm6bbKfR7E/XoDiSAcclvI/AAAAAAAAPFE/04mOQZmFrykqDPLOMkZLQwtq3BmTF8wjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpm6bbKfR7E/XoDiSAcclvI/AAAAAAAAPFE/04mOQZmFrykqDPLOMkZLQwtq3BmTF8wjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_9.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>= </b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDJOQQZqh6Y/XoDi6L2vrWI/AAAAAAAAPFM/pzjJMchP_x8POKHLriz1ThStiOkrM2z4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_18.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDJOQQZqh6Y/XoDi6L2vrWI/AAAAAAAAPFM/pzjJMchP_x8POKHLriz1ThStiOkrM2z4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_18.jpg" width="120" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="7" height="10 px"></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>18 out of 20! A superior hit!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
Everything that was good about volume 1 remains true, but on the other hand so do the things I considered less positive. Thankfully, those are a pretty minor factor compared to the overall quality of these products. Constructive criticisms and quibbles aside, <i>Amarune's Almanac</i> has shown a consistent excellence in game and graphic design, writing, and illustration. If anything, these two volumes slightly raise the bar with bestiaries that were - to me - far more interesting. All things considered, what you get in each volume is an absolute bargain at the price.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You can find the three current volumes of <i>Amarune's Almanac</i> at the following links:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/296459/Amarunes-Almanac-Forests-of-the-Realms" target="_blank">Forests of the Realms</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/299636/Amarunes-Almanac-The-Underdark" target="_blank">The Underdark</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/305043/Amarunes-Almanac-Grasslands-of-the-Realms" target="_blank">Grasslands of the Realms</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
I will not be writing any more reviews for Aamrune's Almanac. I think three is enough to build a clear picture of the quality across the entire series. As long as the creative team maintain or exceed the current standard, I would whole-heartedly recommend picking up any volume!</div>
</div>
<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-16790212549415260092020-03-05T20:44:00.001+00:002020-03-05T21:01:07.699+00:00Legacy Unknown: A Star Wars Saga Edition RPG Stream!Hi all! In case you missed the updates on twitter, here's an exciting announcement: starting on April 4th, I'll be running a fortnightly Star Wars Saga Edition game on my twitch channel, <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/spilledalestudios" target="_blank">www.twitch.tv/spilledalestudios</a>!<br />
<br />
My amazing players will be <a href="https://twitter.com/Fuzzb0x" target="_blank">@Fuzzb0x</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/litzabronwyn" target="_blank">@litzabronwyn</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceMoose34" target="_blank">@SpaceMoose34</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/XPartay" target="_blank">@XPartay</a>, with an open fifth slot for the occasional guest player.<br />
<br />
Want to know more? I've released a brief introduction to what the game is about, as well as revealed bios and theme songs for two of our four characters! Check what's already been revealed out below, and follow <a href="https://twitter.com/spilledale" target="_blank">@spilledale</a> on twitter for the most up to date news.<br />
<h2>
Introducing <i>Legacy Unknown</i></h2>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fTiSUzkdyLI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="356" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fTiSUzkdyLI?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
<h2>
Ciara Reveal</h2>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MxVli6xkMZo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="356" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MxVli6xkMZo?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
<h2>
Ark Reveal</h2>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LVv8SjXuQdM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="356" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LVv8SjXuQdM?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-38177162979761053442020-01-19T21:43:00.002+00:002020-04-11T09:57:20.504+01:00D&D Review! First Adventure by Leonardo Benucci<b><i>Update 20/01/2020: The author has made me aware of updates to the adventure which occurred between my receipt of the review copy and my posting the review. These additional elements are now factored into the review. </i></b><br />
<br />
Today's review is <i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/297765/First-Adventure?term=first+adventure?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">First Adventure</a></i> by Leonardo Benucci. The product's title is apt: it's a first for me too! In my case, the first 3rd-party D&D adventure I'll ever formally review!<br />
<br />
Given the DM-oriented nature of this product, anyone who doesn't expect they might run it should probably turn away now! The review won't be spoiler free.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/297765/First-Adventure?affiliate_id=1048363" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T8urT6gYUXQ/XiGgS8ZNvMI/AAAAAAAAOV8/5q0t01AT18o6rLuXb06YSypEZPCiA2HQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/First%2BAdventure%2Bcover.jpg" width="489" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>First Adventure - the Goonies-inspired cover!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Value</span></h2>
<i>First Adventure </i>is 64 pages long, which includes the cover, contents, credits, 16 pages worth of adventure, and 45 pages of extensive appendices. These appendices include two creature statblocks, rules for playing kid PCs (yup, you read that right), pregen characters on custom drawn character sheets, illustrations, and maps. The adventure probably should be longer too, as it uses a very conservative size 10 font which compresses it into less pages than it might otherwise occupy. The product is currently priced at only $4.99 but to be honest, it could be priced higher. It <b>should</b> be priced higher. I can't take points off the product's "value" score for being too cheap, because this score is ultimately about value to you, the prospective consumer. But I feel obliged to at least mention it because I really want creatives to recognise the value of their work and price their offerings accordingly.<br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Quality</span></h2>
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The layout and other design elements of <i>First Adventure</i> are competent for a first effort, though the product lacks some of the polish a more experienced graphic designer might be able to bring to the table. But the crucial point here is that there is very little that will get in the way of your usage of the product. Everything is laid out in a way that is usually clear and relatively easy to parse. There are a few issues that do affect legibility:<br />
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<ul>
<li>I think the product could be slightly improved by increasing spacing between some design elements (the space between read-aloud text and the body text, for instance)</li>
<li>I'd suggest increasing the font size from 10 to 11. </li>
<li>In some places where text wraps around images, it is difficult to read. I would recommend either turning off the wrapping or reducing the size of the image.</li>
<li>I would also recommend the author to make another editing pass. There are some missing words and typos yet to be excised, and some of boxed text has no line breaks between paragraphs.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>Pregen Character Sheet - Jeff.</i></td></tr>
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<i>First Adventure</i> includes a lot of graphical elements including a large amount of art, hand-drawn character sheets, and maps. I think the art is all original! If so, it's just another reason the adventure is under-priced.<br />
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The adventure is very well written, with impressively evocative boxed text that really helped draw me into the narrative. There are a few errors as noted above, but nothing that prevented me from understanding a passage.<br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Content</span></h2>
<i>First Adventure</i> differs from most adventure modules in that it's primarily intended to be a self-contained one-shot (you <b>can</b> launch a campaign with it, particularly if you choose not to use the six pregen characters provided). It is also divided into two acts: in the first, players take on the roles of a group of children who go on a journey to find a way to the Faerie Realm, which they do to keep a promise made to their mother on her deathbed. They are in fact meant to fail, but that sets the stage for act 2 in which any survivors return as young adults.<br />
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Meant to fail act 1? Return in act 2? Really? Yes. This is an adventure which is comfortable with what we call railroading. It has a specific story to tell, and keeps the players on that path. This is acceptable given the format of the adventure as a one-shot experience. In the context of a campaign, it's probably better for beginner players who may not chafe as much at forced events. Or simply players who value a good story.<br />
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Despite the characters starting off as young children, <i>First Adventure </i>is not necessarily child-friendly as written. It is quite possible for one of the kid adventurers to meet a grisly demise in Act 1 - though as DM you can, of course, make any modifications you deem necessary. The dark "bad ending" is also the most likely one, which may not be how you want to leave things with young players.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>The Faerie Realm.</i></td></tr>
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<br />
Boxed text is pretty standard in adventures, and <i>First Adventure</i> is no exception. Some DMs like boxed text, others don't. A few of the boxes in <i>First Adventure</i> run to multiple paragraphs, which the latter group probably won't appreciate. The area descriptions could be shorter, the DM trusted more to fill out absent details. But new DMs using <i>First Adventure</i> as their own introduction into D&D will no doubt appreciate the attention to detail. There is also a prologue which is meant to be read aloud. It's a really nice bit of writing which beautifully sets the stage for the adventure, but in my honest opinion it's too long to read at the table. I'd suggest emailing it to players in advance of the session.<br />
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In my view, there are a few things in the adventure that could frustrate some groups:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>To acquire the flower which the characters want for their adoptive mother's grave, they must entertain a group of pixies. The adventure resolves this scene by requiring that the players themselves must make the DM laugh. This might make some players uncomfortable, so bear in mind the personality types in your group.</li>
<li>There are two possible endings for this adventure, and the "good ending" is conditional on players having a gut feeling without being given any clues in particular that might nudge them in that direction. Some seeds earlier in the adventure regarding the reveal would have gone a long way. </li>
<li>A lot of the features and abilities on the pregen sheets are probably going to go end up unused, which seems a shame. This is actually a common issue with pregens, but it's very noticeable in <i>First Adventure</i>. The second act, for instance, calls for only a very few checks and saves and even the act's one combat can be avoided through a successful Perception check. </li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>Pixies!</i></td></tr>
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DMs whose groups are the types who can focus on the story and enjoy roleplaying as kids will thrive playing <i>First Adventure</i>. Groups that like combat, dungeon-crawling, and engaging with the mechanics of the game will probably find the adventure ill-suited to their type of enjoyment. However, I'm certain that with a little work a DM could expand the adventure with additional encounters both in the mine and in the Faerie Realm. </div>
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I've mentioned already that the adventure has substantial appendices. I've already covered the fact that it includes a lot of custom art, maps, and hand-drawn character sheets. So I'll conclude by summarising the contents of Appendix A: Creatures Appendix B: Magic Items, and Appendix C: Kids as PCs.<br />
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<h3>
Appendix A: Creatures</h3>
There is only one creature to fight in this adventure (and it can be bypassed through more peaceful means): the owlbear. It's encountered in both acts, but grows a lot in the intervening 17 years. This appendix includes two custom statblocks for a young owlbear (CR 2) and a fiendish owlbear (CR 6).<br />
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<h3>
Appendix B: Magic Items</h3>
This appendix provides actual rules for the Flower of a Thousand Colours, the object of the children's quest. This is a legendary item with remarkable properties of healing and protection. But it's a fragile flower which must be kept planted and watered in, at minimum, a pot. Many of the flowers properties only benefit you if you carry it, but it's obviously quite inconvenient to take it adventuring - especially since it withers and dies when too many acts of violence occur around it. It could be planted at a group's base of operations, however, allowing them to use its abilities to heal up between adventures and protect their home.<br />
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<h3>
Appendix C: Kids as PCs</h3>
This part of the adventure presents guidelines for making child PCs, which is helpful if you want to create custom PCs instead of using pregens, or if you want to create your own child-oriented adventure.<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both;">
Final Thoughts and Rating</h2>
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<tr><td><a href="https://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=618265375404435381" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANls/dGU9NY8fq0I7qva_c8uRFvW_Sr0Cp4zvACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANls/dGU9NY8fq0I7qva_c8uRFvW_Sr0Cp4zvACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aH-JRdvova4/XiJPaFeQyMI/AAAAAAAAOWM/ITdUWJ9tVQkhks3jyKtUaN4RmoVJSknqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aH-JRdvova4/XiJPaFeQyMI/AAAAAAAAOWM/ITdUWJ9tVQkhks3jyKtUaN4RmoVJSknqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_7.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>= </b></span></td><td><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a6SJD-JLtqk/XiJP4QY_oWI/AAAAAAAAOWU/9n1JVFiHfM4IqchWX7uTHlJ6zsxcUJeZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_15.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a6SJD-JLtqk/XiJP4QY_oWI/AAAAAAAAOWU/9n1JVFiHfM4IqchWX7uTHlJ6zsxcUJeZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_15.jpg" width="120" /></a> </td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>15 out of 20! A great hit!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<i>First Adventure</i> is a labour of love, and has been crafted with an impressive incredible attention to detail. For the author's first publication, it's truly an exemplary effort! There is room for improvement in terms of the product's layout and design, but nothing that makes it impossible to read or run the adventure.<br />
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Therefore, while I certainly do recommend <i>First Adventure</i>, it's important to note that its laser focus on the narrative being told results in a linear path and some sacrifice of player agency. It's also considerably less kid-friendly than first appearances suggest, though it wouldn't be too hard for a DM to make adjustments to change that. As such my recommendation comes with the caveat that this product is better suited to some groups than others.<br />
<br />
Even if you'll never run <i>First Adventure</i>, the rules for kid PCs and the pregen characters could be very useful for running your own child-oriented adventures! At only $4.99, you could do a lot worse than to pick <i>First Adventure</i> up for those alone.<br />
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<b>The final word: </b>An astonishingly ambitious inaugural effort from author Leonardo Benucci, <i>First Adventure</i> spins a cinematic yarn that will appeal to some groups but the linearity of which may frustrate others. <i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/297765/First-Adventure?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">First Adventure</a> </i>is available on DMsGuild now!<br />
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<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-69583821253341176292020-01-14T19:49:00.000+00:002020-01-14T19:49:05.715+00:00Our itch.io store has launched!<a href="https://spilledale.itch.io/" target="_blank">Spilled Ale Studios now has an itch.io store</a>! The store has launched with three pieces of stock art, and will expand in time. When our agreement with DriveThruRPG has transitioned to non-exclusive terms, you can also expect some RPG products to be added to the itch.io store as well!<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Spilled Ale Studios is now on <a href="https://t.co/vkAaCPA8Zg">https://t.co/vkAaCPA8Zg</a>! <a href="https://t.co/buhvBiPPbQ">https://t.co/buhvBiPPbQ</a><br><br>Check out our new line of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dnd?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dnd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rpg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rpg</a> stock art, starting with <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioART?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FabrizioART</a>'s excellent illustrations from Ghostwalker: Eidolon!</p>— Spilled Ale Studios (@spilledale) <a href="https://twitter.com/spilledale/status/1217161348024602625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-25341515384512759552019-12-25T22:47:00.001+00:002019-12-26T12:11:37.806+00:00Christmas and New Year's Sale!All products are 50% off until the 1st of January 2020 <b>when added to your OneBookShelf cart using the special discount button(s) on this post! This is important: OBS special discounts are resolved as links which add an item directly to your cart. The product page links are therefore solely for the purpose of previewing a product's contents. Come back here to add a product you want to your cart!</b><br />
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<h2><em>The Spilled Ale Studios Character Bundle!</em></h2><b>Contains:</b> <i>Awesome Options: Signature Powers</i>, <i>Draconomicon: Dragonbound</i>, <i>Heroes of Song</i>, <i>The Awakened Item</i>, <i>The Explorer</i>, <i>The Explorer 2</i><br />
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</i> Please note that the character bundle has been reduced by only 25.05%. However, this means the bundle's total discount including the reduction already included equals 50%. The discount is therefore the same as buying the products separately, choose the bundle for convenience if planning to pick up all its contents anyway.<br />
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<h2><em>Ashes of Evensong</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Awesome Options: Signature Powers</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Draconomicon: Dragonbound</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Draconomicon: Gem Dragons</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Elminster's Eldritch Esoterica: Power of Blood</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Fantastic Familiars</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Ghostwalker: Eidolon</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Heroes of Song</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Monstrous Monograph: Humanoids Volume 1</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Monstrous Monograph: Monstrosities Volume 1</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Races of Gallian: The Dremund</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Races of Gallian: The Hobben</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>The Awakened Item</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>The Explorer</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>The Explorer 2</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>The Shepherd</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Wasteland Wanderers</em></h2><br />
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<h2><em>Wasteland Wares</em></h2><br />
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spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-46964615242810453282019-12-15T22:12:00.002+00:002019-12-16T09:05:54.112+00:00D&D review! Eberronicon, A Pocket Guide to the World.A very interesting product has crossed my metaphorical desk: <i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/297249/Eberronicon-A-Pocket-Guide-to-the-World?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">Eberronicon, A Pocket Guide to the World</a></i>. Project lead Laura Hirsbrunner asked if I'd like to review it and clearly my answer was "yes"!<br />
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My interest is partly curiosity: Eberron sort of passed me by. I did own the campaign setting, which was released at a time when I picked up pretty much every D&D book published. Yet the world just didn't grab me. Truthfully I don't know how much of that was incompatibility between myself and the setting and how much was the fact that, for me, D&D 3.5 was on the way out. It wasn't long after Eberron released that I started to feel very tired of the edition and stopped playing it, never to pick it up again. I didn't buy anything Eberron related until the <i>Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron</i> a, which I bought for new game content rather than lore. Likewise, my chief interest in <i>Rising from the Last War</i> was additional character options, magic items, creatures, and so on. I could read the lore sections of either book to try and see if I grock Eberron better these days, but that'd be a lot of reading. A "pocket guide" is an attractive alternative! I'll be reading through <i>Eberronicon</i> with interest to see just how much information is packed into its 54 pages. What I'm most curious about going in is whether I would feel comfortable running a game set in Eberron just using information gleaned from this guide, or whether it's more useful as a supplemental resource.<br />
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Laura is also Editor-in-Chief at <a href="https://acrosseberron.com/" target="_blank">Across Eberron</a>, a community project that published <i><a href="https://acrosseberron.com/convergence-manifesto/" target="_blank">Convergence Manifesto</a>, </i>a 13-strong adventure path. Many of the writers for this book are also authors of one or more adventures in <i>Convergence Manifesto</i>, and those adventures were executive produced by Keith Baker, creator of the Eberron setting! Keith is also given a special thanks in the credits of <i>Eberronicon</i> for "lending his insight". We can therefore be quite confident that this team know what they're about, and that the lore in this book ought to be accurate! Hopefully it'll serve as an excellent primer for me to refresh myself on the setting.<br />
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Before I begin, the usual disclaimer: I was provided a copy in order that I could write this review, but that won't bias my thoughts on its content.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eberronicon, A Pocket Guide to the Word.</i></td></tr>
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Value</span></h2>
<i>Eberronicon, a Pocket Guide to the World </i>is $12.99 for 55 pages (54 excluding the cover). I'll obviously talk more about production values in the next section, but I need to briefly mention them in terms of impact on the product's value. Suffice it to say that the quality standard of the book is very high. But there's also a text only version for more efficient printing, which is a useful addition.<br />
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I've seen larger DMsGuild products with a smaller price tag, but those are invariably undercharging. That's what happens when indie creatives try to feel out their price points amidst a market for which there is little clear guidance and is frankly hostile to the idea of creatives being fairly paid for their efforts. $12.99 is a reasonable asking price for the amount of content and professional quality standard. I did do some napkin math on this and while I won't bore you with the details of my working, all things considered <i>Eberronicon</i> is about on par with the value of a WotC release. If you consider that WotC benefit from economies of scale which simply don't apply to indie publishers, it's easy to realise that this product really couldn't be much cheaper than it already is and still pay its contributors. If the price seems like a lot to you, consider how many times you'll refer to this book as you plan your campaign, how many hours of play it will help facilitate. I could spend more on a cinema ticket!<br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Quality</span></h2>
<i>Eberronicon </i>is beautifully presented with an attractive layout, and it makes excellent use of art from DMsGuild creator packs and other artists. The overall impression of quality is very high. If you had a print version, it wouldn't look out of place among the other source books on your shelf.<br />
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If you thought that the so-called<i> Pocket Guide to the World </i>would actually fit in a pocket (if in print), you'd be wrong. The page size is actually typical of a product of this kind: US Letter (8.5 x 11inches). I was slightly disappointed by this since I'd thought it would be a nice quirk, and I know pocket-sized RPG books are possible. I have fond memories of the 3.5 era's Mongoose Pocket Player's Handbook!<br />
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Considering the book isn't pocket sized after all, the body font is smaller than I'd expect: it's size 10, and bear in mind that a font's size attribute is also relative to the scale of the font itself. For a point of reference that's easily grasped, the scale of Crimson Text is about half that of Arial at the same font size. If I used Arial in my products (I don't, I use Merriweather, but it's almost exactly the same scale as Arial) I wouldn't go lower than font size 10.5 for body text. This means that the size 10 Crimson Text used in <i>Eberronicon</i> is less than half the size I'm comfortable using for body text in my own products. So when I say the font is small, I mean it! It is legible, particularly if the pdf is opened in a full screen window. I wouldn't recommend a window much smaller: I usually like my pdf windows to occupy the right half of my 1920x1080 monitor while I make notes in my word processor on the left side. I couldn't do that with <i>Eberronicon</i>. While the text was still legible to me when scaled down into that window, I found myself straining to read it more than I liked. I didn't test the pdf on a mobile device but it is probably a bit of a pain there too.<br />
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On the other hand, there's a positive side to the font size: it means there's much more information squeezed into each page than you'd think, and therefore you're getting better value for money! Honestly though, I'm not sure why it needs to be squeezed in. Why not just use a larger font and have a higher page count?<br />
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The writing is excellent and well edited. There are a scant few places which could do with another editorial pass, but nothing I noticed during my read-through is serious enough to be considered a significant detractor in quality.<br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Content</span></h2>
<i>Eberronicon</i> is a different kind of product to those I've previously reviewed on this blog: it's all lore, no "crunch". That means this section will be comparatively short as there is no mechanical analysis to undertake.<br />
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One thing to note up front: due to the lore heavy nature of this book, it's useful regardless of your preferred edition of D&D (or even if you intend to run a game set in Eberron using another system entirely).<br />
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The book is broken up into 7 sections, as follows:<br />
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<h3>
Welcome to Eberron</h3>
This short section summarises the defining characteristics of the setting and explains the purpose of the book. In a few short pages it does a very good job of capturing Eberron's essence, and therefore is a good resource if you need to pitch the world to your players (or to your DM!). This section also explains how the rest of the book will include cross-references to existing Eberron material: each subsection includes a "Learn more" entry that lists a source and page number for further reading. I cannot overstate how stupendously useful this is! Particularly for a DM who already owns lots of Eberron books but intends to use the Eberronicon as a quick reference.<br />
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<h3>
Chapter 1: Races</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapter 1: Races (sample spread)</td></tr>
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The book's first true chapter briefly introduces each of the playable races, and up to 6 subsections with interesting lore and plot hooks that would help a DM create campaign elements or a player quickly flesh out their character. To take just one example, the section on Changelings includes 5 subsections:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The principality of Gray Tide, a changeling homeland founded by a privateer.</li>
<li>An acknowledgement that changelings are heavily recruited by intelligence agencies, and a list of organisations that would seek to employ them. </li>
<li>Lost, a city populated by doppelgangers and changelings and formed of living, shape changing buildings... (that sounds like <a href="https://twitter.com/spilledale/status/1080575039471271936?s=20" target="_blank">house hunters</a> to me!) </li>
<li>How the people of Riedra consider a changeling's mutable form worthy of reverence, and believe that a good human will reincarnate into a changeling in their next life. </li>
<li>An all changeling criminal organisation known as the Tyrants, one of three groups that dominates the underworld of Sharn.</li>
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<div>
The races described in this chapter are: changelings, dragonborn, drow (which for soem reason get their own section separate from elves, though eladrin do not), dwarves, elves, gnolls, gnomes, goblinoids, half-elves, half-orcs,halflings, kalashtar (psionically gifted humanoids unique to Eberron), kobolds, lizardfolk, orcs, planetouched (aasimar, genasi, tieflings, etc.), shifters (pseudo-werefolk unique to Eberron), and warforged (living constructs unique to Eberron). Some races are given a great deal more attention than others, though that likely owes more to the amount of lore available than any bias on the part of the authors.</div>
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The chapter also includes an extremely useful "Other Races" page which provides ideas for how a DM might incorporate other playable races that exist in D&D 5e into Eberron's world. </div>
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<h3>
Chapter 2: Places</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapter 2: Places (sample spread)</td></tr>
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This chapter is all about important locations: continents, nations, cities, and even planes.<br />
The first part of the chapter lists the world's continents, as well as particularly important locations within those continents. As with Chapter 1, there is significant disparity in how much information is given in each section. Still, it certainly makes sense that Khorvaire has the most detail, given it's the primary continent in terms of Eberron's published literature and where most campaigns are expected to occur. There's a very useful table at the end of this part of the chapter which tells you how to refer to a person hailing from a particular place, as well as how to refer to objects (such as a traditional food) that originate from that place.<br />
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The second half of the chapter is an exploration of Eberron's planar cosmology. I'm a sucker for an interesting cosmology so I enjoyed reading this part particularly. Eberron's planes seem to be distinct, separate places (as opposed to the Great Wheel, where travel directly between bordering planes is possible; however, as is the case with most D&D settings, all are connected through the Astral plane. An unusual quirk of this cosmology is that each plane moves, coming near and far from the material plane. As they come nearer, their aspect can influence the material, with the strength of that influence waxing and waning. The effects of that influence are noted in each plane's subsection. Another interesting aspect of Eberron's cosmology is the lack of a fiendish realm. Instead, we learn that fiends are actually native to the deep realm of Khyber, Eberron's equivalent to the Underdark.<br />
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<h3>
Chapter 3: Factions</h3>
As you'd expect from the title this chapter details significant organisations that exist in the setting, from established adventuring guilds, to hag covens, warforged supremacy movements, and Rakshasa-led fiendish cults. The chapter also lists well known newspapers as well as scholarships to educational establishments. Naturally, the twelve dragonmarked houses which are so central to Eberron's lore are also described in brief here. There's a lot of story hooks here for DMs and players writing character backgrounds alike!<br />
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<h3>
Chapter 4: Faiths</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapter 4: Faiths (sample spread)</td></tr>
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The introduction to this chapter notes that Eberron's deities are not reachable, and cannot be proven to exist (or not exist): belief in their existence is a matter of faith, and a divine spellcaster's power is derived primarily from their faith rather than the target of that faith. The chapter describes Khorvaire's primary three religions, although it's really two religions. The Dark Six pantheon are former members of the Sovereign Host pantheon, so belief in one set of deities implies belief in the other. Pantheistic worship is the norm for the Sovereign Host, which I appreciate. It's never made sense to me that just because a character worships one god in a fantasy pantheon, they would fail to give due reverence to other deities in the context of their specific domains: even if I happen to be a cleric of the harvest deity, you can bet when I'm at risk of drowning in a shipwreck I'm offering my prayers to a god of the sea! The last of the core religions is the Silver Flame, which is worship of an "eternal force of goodness". Sounds like an ideal source of power for paladin types.<br />
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There is also a lengthy section of "Other Religions" which includes a variety of other cultural and racial belief systems, druidic sects, and cults. There's even a subsection on atheism, which is a much more viable approach in a setting where power comes from the act of faith rather than the gods themselves than it is in a world where the existence of the divine is unquestionable.<br />
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A great sidebar near the end of this chapter is aimed at <i>D&D 5e</i> DMs: it talks about the <i>reincarnate</i> spell in the context of Eberron and provides a comprehensive alternative reincarnation table. This might actually be a useful resource even for DMs of other settings, as it incorporates other non-Eberron races that have been published after the <i>Player's Handbook</i>. At the very least it could serve as a model for designing your own alternative table for the spell appropriate to your own setting.<br />
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<h3>
Appendix A: Secrets</h3>
I'm not going to dwell much on this appendix because, after all, its contents are secret! This is where DMs should look to learn about truths of the setting that should not necessarily be apparent to characters in the world, or (ideally) their players. This is therefore a very useful reference when figuring out what your campaign is going to be about!<br />
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<h3>
Appendix B: Further Reading</h3>
This appendix is an impressively curated list of additional resources. Neatly organised tables identify Eberron sourcebooks and adventures from previous editions, and provide an abbreviation for each sourcebook (which you'll find useful when following the "Learn More" notes interspersed throughout the rest of the book). In addition to published sourcebooks and adventures, lists of other sources are provided: Dragon and Dungeon magazine articles, web articles, organized play seasons, novels, and "Kanon" sources ("Kanon" means not technically official, but derived from Keith Baker's writings about his personal version of Eberron).<br />
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This appendix is extremely comprehensive! it's a really impressive effort and I can see it being extremely useful both for DMs wanting an easy starting point for their deep dive into lore as well as new Eberron DMs wondering what sources might be their next best investment.<br />
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Final Thoughts and Rating</h2>
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<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>FINAL SCORE OUT OF 20:</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbPUStL1ER8/Xduf9ApVSII/AAAAAAAAN1I/ecFSlnPb13Ul7YL1-w54p_9LTESd2tbCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbPUStL1ER8/Xduf9ApVSII/AAAAAAAAN1I/ecFSlnPb13Ul7YL1-w54p_9LTESd2tbCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScores.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mh8GAWqmCtw/Xfac7dw4ipI/AAAAAAAAN6k/qg8sYYBLhoEjmv7UdNLqNHmKQsjGNZi3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mh8GAWqmCtw/Xfac7dw4ipI/AAAAAAAAN6k/qg8sYYBLhoEjmv7UdNLqNHmKQsjGNZi3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_10.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>= </b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WAoOesG2SkA/XfadLO5S_pI/AAAAAAAAN6s/2DD3PwaImHsNDHwW0g_QJ_IZmc_s_7dngCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_19.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WAoOesG2SkA/XfadLO5S_pI/AAAAAAAAN6s/2DD3PwaImHsNDHwW0g_QJ_IZmc_s_7dngCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_19.jpg" width="120" /></a> </td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>19 out of 20! A champion's hit!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<br />
This is an excellent exploration of the Eberron setting which manages to squeeze an impressive amount of key information into a fairly short book. I wondered early in this review whether a DM could confidently run an Eberron game using only the <i>Eberronicon</i> and I think the answer is yes, to a point. With the brief summaries here you could flesh out your own take on Eberron which captures the same key themes, but without more detail you wouldn't be able to run a version of the world experienced Eberron players would feel at home in. But if you want to flesh out the world in more canonical detail, then this book is also a great boon to you: I'm in awe of the excellent referencing in the <i>Eberronicon</i> which will help any Eberron DM immensely as they plan their campaigns.<br />
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There is almost nothing negative to say about <i>Eberronicon, A Pocket Guide to the World</i>. My only real complaint is with the font size of the body text. As I noted, I found it too small to have the PDF side by side with my notes for this review on my monitor without having to zoom in resulting in significantly more scrolling around as I read than usual. DMs referring to it at their computer while planning their game may have similar difficulties, depending on their monitor size and set up, and I can only assume that it will also be more inconvenient than many other PDFs for mobile devices.<br />
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<b>The final word: </b>if you are or intend to be an Eberron DM, this is an astounding resource which you won't regret adding to your collection. It's pretty useful as a player reference, too, just don't sneak a peak at Appendix A! <i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/297249/Eberronicon-A-Pocket-Guide-to-the-World?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">Eberronicon, A Pocket Guide to the World</a> </i>is available on DMsGuild now.<br />
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If you're curious whether I've become an Eberron convert based on my reading of this book: I'm probably no more likely to run an Eberron campaign than I was before, since I generally prefer to homebrew my worlds. But I have a new appreciation for the lore of the setting, and I can see better why other DMs and players enjoy the world. While I might not use want to use Eberron as a whole, I'm definitely more likely to take inspiration from it! I'd be more likely to want to play in the world, too.<br />
<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-9796228610801821952019-11-25T17:27:00.002+00:002019-11-25T18:21:23.702+00:005e: Amarune's Almanac Volume 1 - Forests of the Reams, a review.Today I’m reviewing an upcoming DMsGuild product from a team of DMsGuild creators led by <a href="https://twitter.com/vorpaldicepress" target="_blank">Steve Fidler</a> (author of <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/284319/Prism-Light--Magic" target="_blank"><i>Prism: Light & Magic</i></a>, among others; and also a contributor to <i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/293143/Infamous-Adversaries" target="_blank">Infamous Adversaries</a></i>, <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/10/5e-infamous-adversaries.html" target="_blank">which I recently reviewed</a>) The product in question is the inaugural volume of <i>Amarune’s Almanac</i>, a series of books exploring the various biomes of the Forgotten Realms. <i>Amarune’s Almanac </i>Volume 1 is subtitled <i>Forests of the Realms</i>, so we have a pretty clear idea going in what sort of information we’re going to find here!<br />
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For the remainder of this review, I’m going to use the acronym <i>AA:FotR</i> as a shorthand for <i>Amarune’s Almanac: Forests of the Realms</i>.<br />
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Steve provided me a complimentary copy for the purposes of review so here’s the usual disclaimer: My reviews are honest and unbiased, otherwise what would be the point of them? Free copy or not you can trust me to tell it as I see it.<br />
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Please also note that because I received my review copy several weeks before release, it is possible that some of the issues I might note during my review may actually be resolved by the time of release. This review may therefore be updated to reflect any feedback to that effect by the authors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4DoBU2ZGJ-4/XdufDYrzG_I/AAAAAAAAN1A/E5_qaVdnglUONXxkHz6igG-nJPWFtqM0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AA_Fotr_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="712" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4DoBU2ZGJ-4/XdufDYrzG_I/AAAAAAAAN1A/E5_qaVdnglUONXxkHz6igG-nJPWFtqM0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/AA_Fotr_Cover.jpg" width="491" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Amarune's Almanac: Forests of the Realms</i></td></tr>
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<h2>
Value </h2>
As noted, I received an advance copy for the purpose of this review: <i>AA:FotR</i> is not yet available for sale. If you like what you read here you’ll be able to pick up your copy on Monday, December 2nd. Your purchase will only set you back $9.95 which is a very fair price for 48 pages of content (excluding cover pages, which make it up to 50). As well as useful lore, your purchase price gets you a considerable amount of new game content including player options, a new downtime activity, creature statblocks, and magic items. The production values of the book are of a very high standard. Overall, I consider it to be excellent value.<br />
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Furthermore, I’ve been informed that purchase includes a code that will enable you to get future volumes of <i>Amarune’s Almanac</i> for only $7.50.<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both;">
Quality</h2>
As mentioned, the standard of <i>AA:FotR</i> is very high. Graphic designer <a href="https://twitter.com/freeners" target="_blank">Nathanaël Roux</a> (who also designed the <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/10/5e-infamous-adversaries.html" target="_blank">recently reviewed <i>Infamous Adversaries</i></a>) has done a great job here. The background and borders are attractive, the book is neatly laid out in a two-column format, and supplementary tables are presented in an effective way. The bulk of the text is in a very legible font, while notes from the book’s fictional author and editor mimic handwriting. This is expected, but may be less clear to readers with dyslexia or other issues with font legibility. It should still be readable with some patience. If there is one genuine misstep, I personally think the font used for headings is a poor choice: attractive as cursive may be, it’s often hard to read and that’s the last thing you want in a heading (or in a contents page, where the font also appears). For example, lower case “r” doesn’t really look like very much like an “r”. Where only one appears, the letters around it make the sense of the word clear. But where two “r”s are next to each other, they resemble a “v”. “Darkberry” could easily be read “Darkbevy”. A similar thing happens with “ir”, and if you’re speed reading it’s possible to miss the dot of the “i”. Thus, “Abeirwood” becomes “Abevwood”.<br />
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Art in the book is a mix of high quality colour art and sketches of the kind that might appear in a traveler’s journal, which is an economic choice that works excellent in this book’s format. <br />
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I have little to say on spelling and grammar. The book is excellently written and clearly very well edited. If I have one complaint it’s a minor, perhaps even petty one: the words “As it turns out” appear far too often for my taste. It’s no big deal, I just consider it an unnecessary writing tic. However, it’s possible it’s not a habit of the actual writer but instead part of the “voice” they’ve created for fictional author Amarune! If the latter, then fair enough! But I personally wish her fictional editor Arclath would have been stricter.<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both;">
Content</h2>
A surprisingly small amount of this book is dedicated to describing actual forests (around 12 pages), while the rest is game content. That’s great news if, like me, your main criteria for whether to purchase a supplement is what new resources it offers DMs and players. But if your first concern is Realms lore, what do you actually get? Let's take a look.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amarune (art by Dante Ezio Cifaldi)</td></tr>
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The lore sections are supposedly written by Amarune Whitewave, Elminster’s great-great granddaughter. A few seconds worth of research on my part demonstrates that she is an actual character from Realms lore (created by Ed Greenwood, no less, for one of his novels). As is her lover-slash-editor, Arclath. The series conceit is that Amarune and Arclath are travelling the world so that Amarune can try and untangle her memories from those of Elminster, whose mind shared her body for a brief period. During their journey, Amarune has decided to try her hand at travel writing. A chance meeting with Volothamp Geddarm in Port Nyanzaru led to the series finding a wealthy patron willing to publish. Naturally, the author of the Volo’s Guide series couldn’t resist providing an introduction to the almanac.<br />
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What I consider to be lore sections includes:<br />
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<ul>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i> The introduction.</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>Amarune uses this chapter to introduce herself, try to define what a forest is, explain the inclusion of jungles in this volume, and talk about the relationship between the Weave (magic) and forests.</li>
<li><b style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Locations, </i></b>which includes descriptions of five forest areas from around the Forgotten Realms: the Adhe Wood, the Jungles of Chult, the High Forest, the Tangled Trees, and the Yuirwood. </li>
</ul>
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Presenting the lore in this book in the format of travel writing allows its real-world authors to describe the geography they’re detailing as a series of evocative stories, showing the wonder of such places rather than simply listing facts. This is good for inspiring you as you read, but it has its downside. When facts are actually provided they are buried in the text. This means it is not a good reference book at the table, or indeed if you need to keep checking back during planning. The bit of information you want to check could be anywhere in two pages (four columns) worth of lore with no subheadings or any other means of breaking up the content into more manageable chunks. I suggest you read the lore in this book early in the planning stages of whatever session or arc you need the information for, and take notes as you go.<br />
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If we consider the Introduction to be chapter 1, then Locations is chapter 3. In between them are the Player Options. Then there is a chapter 4, Between Adventures. Finally, a single appendix split into two section: Beasts and Monsters and Magic Items. To be honest, I find this order a little peculiar. The Player Options and Between Adventures sections are written differently from the rest of the book: in these sections, the actual authors of <i>AA:FotR</i> are talking to you, the actual reader, to communicate new games rules. Elsewhere in the book, Amarune is the voice, communicating lore. I think it’s weird to break up the flow of Amarune’s journal with content that clearly doesn’t belong in it. Frankly, I think all the game content belongs in the almanac’s appendices, thus making a clear distinction between the two types of content.<br />
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Order of presentation aside, let’s talk about that game content, because there’s a lot of it:<br />
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<h3>
Player Options</h3>
I’m a sucker for new character options, and <i>AA:FotR</i> doesn’t disappoint in this area.<br />
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The chapter presents two new archetypes, the Circle of the Grove (a Druid archetype) and the Sylvan Sentinel (a Ranger archetype). Exactly what you’d expect from a book on biomes. So much so, in fact, that their presence feels like a checked box to meet reader expectations of the book and hints that every volume in the almanac will also have the same: Desert biome? Desert druid and desert ranger. Check. The fact is that not all biomes really need new druid and ranger subclass support, particularly in the case of the druid. Existing druid circles cover a lot of the possible themes already. I don’t particularly want to see new archetypes treading old conceptual ground. You know what would be interesting to see in future volumes? Biome-themed archetypes for classes other than the druid and ranger. Off the top of my head: how about a flaying winds fighter (Desert), a shark totem barbarian (Oceans), a frost bloodline Sorcerer descended from Yuki-Onna or other cold-themed fey (Tundra), or a fen stalker rogue (Swamp)? <br />
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<br />
<h4>
<b>The Circle of the Grove</b></h4>
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The Circle of the Grove doesn’t sell itself to me on concept alone. I noted already that most if not all biomes already have the Circle of the Land to represent their druidic defenders. Forests are doubly served already: they’ve got the Circle of the Shepherd as well! So conceptually this archetype just isn’t necessary. Let’s see if the mechanics can wow me enough to overlook that.<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>2nd level features:</b></li>
<ul>
<li>A list of <b><i>Circle Spells</i></b> is provided, but the actual description of the feature is missing. Remember, not all druid circles actually get Circle Spells, so it is a feature that is normally spelled out on a per archetype basis. The absence isn’t too terrible, as you can get the necessary wording from other archetypes, but it ought to be fixed. You shouldn’t need to look anywhere other than your own archetype for all the information you need to play it. Three of the spells on the Circle Spells list are new in this book: sticks to snakes, grasping trees, and soothing stone. All five other Circle Spells are identical to Circle Spells for the Circle of the Land (Forest) which doesn’t really help make the case for the archetype’s separate existence.</li>
<li><b><i>Grove Beast Forms</i></b> (or “Grove Beast Fauns”, by my first reading. Sorry to keep harping on about the cursive font, and I’ll stop now, but legibility is important!) lets the druid transform into more powerful beasts. This is a weaker version of the Moon Druid’s Circle Forms. You must choose a beast that dwells in the forest, your max CR is ½, and the max CR scales more slowly. Considering Circle Forms is more powerful and the Moon Druid gets to wild shape at a bonus action at the same level, the Grove Druid’s next 2nd level feature is going to have to be a heavy hitter to compare.</li>
<li><b><i>Land Transmutation: Grove</i></b>. You can spend a Wild Shape as an action to immediately grow a magical grove of trees (half your druid level + your Wisdom) which lasts for a few hours (half your druid level). It’s certainly cool! And in certain contexts, it could be incredibly useful. But considering it costs a precious wild shape and its situational usefulness, it feels relatively weak. I’d like this feature to be of more practical use in combat, such as creating some difficult terrain.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>6th level feature:</b></li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Take Root</i></b> lets the druid take root in the ground and draw nourishment from the soil. Very cool, very thematic. Long-time readers may remember I gave a similar feature to the <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2018/06/5e-warlock-patron-wilderheart.html" target="_blank">Wilderheart Warlock</a>: the 14th level feature Life Thrives implemented the concept as 1/short rest personal healing. The implementation here is different, granting half the druid’s level in temporary hit points continuously for every turn as long as they continue not to move. This is quite powerful, but severely limits the druid’s tactics. Overall I think it’s a fine addition.</li>
</ul>
<li><b><b>10th level feature:</b></b></li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Ward of Thorns</i></b> is another case of great minds thinking alike, having some conceptual crossover with my warlock archetype’s Wilderheart’s Ward! Not that surprising really, there are only so many ways you can express powers over nature, especially if you’re required to give the archetype combat-oriented features. Ward of Thorns grants a nasty reaction to melee attacks, dealing 2d6 piercing damage and reducing the attacker’s speed to 0 for their next turn. They can ignore that effect by willingly taking an additional 2d6 damage, so let’s call it a 3d6 on average, then. This is really quite strong and is more likely to trigger than a regular opportunity attack. If we were in any doubt about an optimal combat style for a Circle of the Grove druid, it’s cleared up now: they’ll be a beast if specced for melee combat casting. They can wade into melee, Take Root, and then punish an aggressor with their Ward of Thorns.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>14th level feature:</b></li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Ally of the Grove</i></b> lets you animate a tree as a treant as an action, lasting an hour, once per long rest. That’s one hell of a partner for the melee-focused Grove Druid! A treant might seem too powerful a “summon”, but remember that the Circle of the Shepherd’s <b>Faithful Summons</b> can conjure 4 CR 2 Beasts (with approximately the same amount of hit points and more overall damage between them than the treant). Of course, the Shepherd can only do that if reduced to 0 hit points or incapacitated, but on the other hand the Grove Druid needs to actually have access to a tree. It probably balances out, but don’t play a Grove Druid in a campaign where you won’t see many trees!</li>
</ul>
<li>Overall, this seems to be a very strong archetype, though not necessarily overpowered in comparison to some official archetypes. My feeling is that the 2nd level features are comparatively weak but the power difference is made up for by later features. Be prepared to wait a while to really get into the swing of things with this Circle. You’re probably best off building for melee from the start, or else you might find your tactics changing significantly mid-way through your career to suit the strong melee focus of the later features. Note that as written all of the archetype’s features can be used even while you’re in wild shape. I think that’s pretty cool for Take Root and Ward of Thorns, but in my opinion Land Transmutation: Grove and Ally of the Grove too closely resemble complex spells/rituals and should have wording to prevent them being used while in beast form. I haven’t been convinced of the need for this archetype. Still, it looks fun to play and there’s no harm in allowing it as a third option for forest-themed druids, or perhaps using the Grove druid but disallowing one or both of the other options.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4liy7GgQUZA/XdwK1yWGDBI/AAAAAAAAN1w/nU0PceuZ0IY-Vrwo7MW2mbGnJl4PSXfRQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/SylvanSentinel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="520" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4liy7GgQUZA/XdwK1yWGDBI/AAAAAAAAN1w/nU0PceuZ0IY-Vrwo7MW2mbGnJl4PSXfRQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/SylvanSentinel.jpg" width="436" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sylvan sentinel (art by Bob Greyvenstein)</td></tr>
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<h4>
<b>Sylvan Sentinel</b></h4>
This is a ranger that has sworn allegiance to fey creatures. That’s a distinct, extremely class-appropriate and so far unexplored concept, at least as far as the Ranger class goes: the Paladin gets something with a similar theme in the Oath of the Ancients. I have a minor quibble here: the Sylvan Sentinel doesn’t actually say it’s a ranger archetype until several paragraphs in (the last few words of its first feature is the first time the word “ranger” shows up in the text). Sure, the introduction to this chapter does explain it. But people skip introductions to get to the good stuff. This needs to be made explicit early. To be honest it wouldn’t be a bad idea to put the intended class for both archetypes in brackets within their subtitles, or have eg. “Ranger archetype” as a subheading. Anyway, the theme of this archetype is great and in hindsight a glaring omission in the ranger’s arsenal of subtypes! I like the idea. Let’s see how it’s executed.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>3rd level features:</b></li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Sylvan Sentinel Magic:</i></b> as is typical for some but not all ranger archetypes, you’re going to get a list of one new spell known per spell level to help sell the archetype’s theme. It’s a good and on-brand selection: faerie fire, misty step, plant growth*, conjure woodland beings*, and modify memory. Misty Step in particular ought to be great for a ranger! The two spells marked with an asterisk (*) are already on the ranger’s spell list. From what I can tell official archetypes tend to stray away from doing this and instead offer spells strictly from other class lists. It’s still useful to get these spells for free since it saves you precious spells known, but it might be less useful/fun than getting a spell you’d otherwise never have had access to. Illusion spells from the bard list might make great alternatives: perhaps major image and hallucinatory terrain.</li>
<li><b><i>Fey Friend:</i></b> You can speak, read, and write Sylvan. Animals understand you when you speak Sylvan. Fine - but “animal” isn’t a creature type in D&D. I assume it just means beasts, but maybe it also includes monstrosities? This needs to be clarified. Also, you have advantage on Persuasion and Insight when it comes to Fey who are not Evil, but that flips to disadvantage if you ever harm such a creature without first being provoked until you can atone. I think what constitutes being provoked could be clarified here, as a lot is currently left up to DM discretion.</li>
<li><b><i>Gossamer Strikes: </i></b>when you have advantage on a melee weapon attack ,you can make one extra attack as part of your Attack action, and you gain a temporary +20 ft. movement until the end of your turn. This feature has unusual reset conditions: short or long rest, but also whenever you roll initiative at the start of combat, or whenever you score a critical hit. The rest conditions are redundant: since the feature can only be used in combat, it’s enough to know it resets when initiative is rolled. I like this feature: it is roughly comparable to the Gloom Stalker’s Dread Ambusher, except it does not do extra damage, it isn’t guaranteed (you must have advantage which could cost you effort or a resource - now you know why you get faerie fire!), and if you’re super lucky you may get to use it more than once per combat.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>7th level feature:</b></li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Glimmering Misdirection:</i></b> You can spend your reaction to make an attack against you be rolled with disadvantage, then move 10 feet without provoking. This is hugely useful: I’m thinking too huge to be allowed every turn with no limitations on use. It’s roughly equivalent to a +3 to AC once per turn, plus the potential to stop the attacker’s entire Attack action cold if they have too little movement remaining to catch the ranger after they flee. This is quite possible, since a ranger has methods to go faster (longstrider) and to choose or set up their battlefield to slow down their enemies (for instance, see the 8th level feature Land’s Stride, which would allow the Sylvan Sentinel to move freely through difficult terrain, thorny plants, and even dare to risk leading a foe through an entangle spell).</li>
</ul>
<li><b>11th level feature:</b></li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Shimmerdance:</i></b> Once per turn you can add 1d6 to an attack roll, though you must decide to do so before the DM tells you if you hit or miss. Later in a combat that qualifier becomes pretty moot though as you’ll have figured out the target’s AC (and many DMs tell their players AC anyway). My first instinct was that it was another strong feature but we can again compare to the Gloom Stalker, which can use Stalker’s Flurry to make a whole new attack once per turn if they miss. Compared to that +3.5 to hit seems fine.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>15th level feature:</b></li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Gift of the Faerie:</i></b> you get fairy wings which you can manifest or dismiss as a bonus action. Fly speed equal to your movement speed so typically 30 feet. This is fine, if anything a little modest for a 15th level feature and archetype capstone.</li>
</ul>
<li>I really like this archetype. It has a clear theme which is interesting, new, and is conveyed well by its features. For the most part I consider it balanced, but I’m concerned that Glimmering Misdirection might be too potent.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Additional Rules</h3>
This section presents a couple of rules variants.<br />
<br />
A variant to the Druid’s Spellcasting feature lets the druid swap a spell they have prepared once per short rest by spending 1 minute per spell level in meditation. The new spell must have an “Environment component” that matches the biome the druid is currently in. To understand the concept of Environment components, we have to read ahead to the Spells section on the next page. Environment is a new type of spellcasting component presented in Amarune’s Almanac: “some spells require the caster to be in a specific biome or surrounded by specific terrain”. Got it. What this means is that if you introduce this variant, you’ll only be able to swap in spells that are from this book and others in the series (unless other DMsGuild creators decide to adopt the system too). For now then, you’ll only be able to do it in forests and jungles. I like the idea a lot, though obviously it needs further support to become especially useful.<br />
<br />
We’re also presented a variant for the Ranger’s Natural Explorer. In addition to the normal effects of that feature, the ranger can cast up to 4 spells (which they gain at 2nd, 5th, 9th, and 13th levels) which are appropriate to their favoured terrain: in other words, spells from this book. The ranger gets the spells for their first favoured terrain automatically; when they get additional favoured terrains they can swap which set of terrain spells they have every long rest. Each spell can be cast once per long rest. As written, the wording doesn’t say they are cast without expending one of your spell slots, but I assume that’s meant to be the case. This is a really good idea but once again won’t become particularly practical until further volumes are released.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Spellcasting</h3>
This section introduces and explains the concept of an Environment component and provides 11 new Forest Spells. There’s an excellent table which summarises the spells by level, school, class availability, and whether they can be cast as a ritual.<br />
<br />
The actual list of Spells is ordered by spell level, which is not a great choice and I hope the editor reconsiders ordering them alphabetically. I’ll be writing about the spells in the order they currently appear, though I’ll only comment on ones that I think are either particularly cool or may have issues.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Druidic Practice (1st level, ritual)</i></b> is an equivalent for the Cleric’s Ceremony spell. For a 1st level ritual spell it offers some powerful effects, but limits them in meaningful ways (once per year, once ever, etc.). I think the options are excellent and are pitched about right when compared to Ceremony. However, they may be too much of a mixed bag. See, like all spells Ceremony belongs to a school, which is Abjuration. All of its possible uses can be seen as protective: even the bonus to ability checks for the Coming of Age ritual could be seen as protecting the target from clumsiness and bad luck. Whereas, Druidic Practice is also given the Abjuration school but has a whole grab bag of effects that technically belong to other schools including Divination (Forosnai) and Enchantment (Imbue). The authors may wish to consider that, and either pick rituals that have a thematic thread between them or possibly split some of these effects out into additional spells. Inappropriateness for the school of magic aside I particularly love Forosnai, which can send a willing creature on a spiritual/dream journey. It would step on the toes of higher level divination spells, were it not for the fact that a creature may only take one such journey a year, which must occur in the season of their birth.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Forest Spirit (1st level, Ritual)</i></b> can animate a small tree or shrub as a very, very weak creature (1 hit point, Strength of 2, and can’t attack). It can perform minor chores for you around the forest, like identifying edible fruits, marking trees, and tracking non-native creatures. It can be cast as a ritual but can’t be abused: since you control a forest spirit with a bonus action you could create as many as you like but you’d still only be able to control one at a time. The spell also ends if you move a forest spirit more than 60 feet away from you.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Woodland Step (1st level)</i></b> is a strange one, to be honest. It states “you become one with the forest, allowing you to pass through its undergrowth with ease”. However, its effect doesn’t match its fiction or its forest theme. The actual mechanical benefit of the spell is to allow you to move without provoking and make a single melee attack. I would have expected something about ignoring difficult terrain, even when it's created by magic.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Bestial Reawakening (2nd level)</i></b> is a resource cheap version of raise dead (1 action instead of 1 hour, 50 gp instead of 500 gp, 2nd level slot instead of 5th level slot). Basically: an easy method to bring back beloved pets. I don’t see why the casting time should be so much quicker than raise dead when it’s essentially the same spell though.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Sticks to Snakes (2nd level Ritual)</b></i> is your jam if you like sticks but you <b>love</b> snakes, I guess. This was actually a spell in 1st and 2nd edition that has been converted, so perhaps that’s also the case with some of the other spells in this book? Anyway, you turn a stick into a giant constrictor snake for up to 10 minutes (concentration). At higher levels you can transform one additional stick per spell slot level. Sure. You can also cast the spell again to immediately turns snakes within 20 feet of you created by this spell back into sticks. It isn’t 100% clear to me whether this only works on your casting of the spell, or if this would work to undo the casting of another spellcaster. In my opinion this spell should not be a ritual. There’s a simple test for ritual spells: if it has combat application, it isn’t ritual appropriate. Giant poisonous snakes may only be CR ¼, but they can still do quite a lot of damage. I’d say if you take away the Ritual component from this spell it’s a better fit for 1st level.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Grasping Trees (3rd level).</i></b> This one’s super cool. Each turn for a minute (concentration) you can have any tree you can see restrain a creature within 10 feet of the tree (The creature gets a Strength save to avoid/free itself). That’s your Action. As a Bonus Action, you can also have a tree you can see give a creature within 10 feet a good smacking. Naturally, you’d normally want this to be the same tree that restrained a creature, or another nearby tree, to benefit from the advantage on attack rolls caused by that condition. But I like that it doesn’t have to be, giving you more tactical options.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Heart of the Forest (4th level). </i></b>You become one with the forest, meaning you are unable to get lost and you can’t be tracked. You also know roughly where every creature in the forest is but can’t determine creature types and though you get a rough sense of size large groups of creatures in a cluster may be mistaken for single larger creatures. I’m not a fan of this for the same reason I dislike the ranger’s Primeval Awareness class feature. Large scale detection features are a pain in the arse. Primeval Awareness has an area of up to 6 miles in radius. That’s so huge. This spell doesn’t even specify a range, it’s just “the forest”. Forests can be reaaaally big, y’all. An area of these magnitudes is going to be absolutely thronging with creatures, most of which are entirely unrelated to the events of the adventure. Does the DM think about what else lives in the forest in advance? That’s a lot of work. Do they make them up on the spot? That’s a lot of stress at the table. Either way, mentioning them may risk sending the players on a wild goose chase unrelated to their current adventure, which seems a poor reward for using a rare resource like a 4th-level spell slot. Should the DM just not mention any creature that isn’t plot relevant, and end up making the region seem oddly dead, not part of a living world? It’s a whole mess and I’d personally choose to excise all such features from the game, not add more. That aside, I just don’t think this spell is very good for a 4th level spell slot: you don’t really get any meaningful information unless you already know for a fact you’re looking for a big creature or large group, which shouldn’t be that hard to track anyway. I’m also not convinced it needs to be on the Ranger list as it’s of even less value to them. They’re already fairly unlikely to get lost, quite good at hiding their tracks, and they have Primeval Awareness for detecting most creatures worthy of note.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Soothing Stone (4th level Ritual).</i></b> You can infuse a gemstone with healing energy, which restores 6d4 + 6 hit points. You can only have one at a time. I would normally be against giving healing away as a ritual, were it not for the fact that it’s sort of like buying and using a healing potion: in fact, I assume this was the designer’s thought process since infusing the gemstone costs exactly 3 times the price of a Potion of Healing, and cures exactly three times the hit points. However, that logic doesn’t quite cut it. With the stone, you can cure a creature with a single bonus action what would normally take 3 potions over the course of 3 actions. Plus you can create it yourself over an hour rather than having to go shopping. The gold consumed by this spell needs to be considerably higher to reflect the massive boost to convenience it represents.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Bulwark of Irritants (8th level).</i></b> This is gonna squick some people out. You’re covered in a layer of insects (it says 100 but honestly, for complete coverage there ought to be far more crawling all over you...) granting you a buffer of 100 temporary hit points and immunity to poison and diseases. As you lose temporary hit points you start gaining increased cover. The spell doesn’t really explain why but my guess is what’s supposed to be happening in the fiction is clouds of insects buzzing up into the air, helping to obfuscate you. The ability to spend a reaction once per round to halve an attack that would deal 50+ damage seems unnecessary fiddly. -25 (or more) hit points is a super good value use of a reaction, so most rounds it’s almost a given it will be saved for use this way. I’d consider removing this bit, increasing the temporary hit points a bit more, and calling it good.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Between Adventures</h3>
It might not seem it since I’m not going to write a lot about this section compared to my deep analysis of the character options, but I want to make clear that it’s actually my favourite part of <i>AA:FotR</i>! There’s a new downtime activity: Gathering Plants Expedition. I believe this activity could easily be adapted to model other kinds of gathering. There is also a list of 20 flora including flowers, fruits, and trees useful for lumber. The flora are described and their special features explained, and tables show their sale values and in which regions of the Forgotten Realms each flora might be found. It’s a really well thought out and useful section!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htNYjM1WE4I/XdwLiTiytBI/AAAAAAAAN18/qfW9S-55uiYAQbaqPYklpVLvmjeJSZD8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/floratable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="699" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htNYjM1WE4I/XdwLiTiytBI/AAAAAAAAN18/qfW9S-55uiYAQbaqPYklpVLvmjeJSZD8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/floratable.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Regional Flora table</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Appendix</h3>
The appendix is split into two sections: Beasts and Monsters, and Magic Items.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Beasts and Monsters</h4>
This section includes 10 new statblocks, most of which are beasts. There is also another extremely useful table (the table game is strong in this book) which shows which regions of the Realms each monster is native to.<br />
<br />
New beasts in this book include:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The CR 2 cooshee (very stealthy forest-dwelling hounds bred by elves)</li>
<li>The CR 5 giant armadillo (exactly what you’d expect)</li>
<li>The CR 3 gore boar (particularly large and bloodthirsty examples of their kind)</li>
<li>the CR ½ ironwoodpecker (able to peck through ironwood - and armour - with ease)</li>
<li>The CR 5 kermode bear (a “spirit bear” which can phase between the material ethereal planes)</li>
<li>The CR 2 moss bear (has a symbiotic relationship with which gains temporary hit points in sunlight)</li>
<li>The CR 4 redwood crawler (a huge woodlouse-like creature)</li>
<li>The CR 3 silverback ape</li>
<li>All in all, this book is a massive boon to Circle of the Moon druids.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Other creatures include:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The CR 9 hangman tree, a subtropical plant creature which hauls creatures up into its boughs with noose-like vines and drops them into a central maw.</li>
<li>The CR 4 white stag, a celestial often set to guarding forests by nature deities.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
A nice feature of this section is that the description of a creature includes a paragraph on valuable substances or materials which might be harvested from them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Magic Items</h4>
There are <strike>9</strike> (edit: there are, in fact, 10) magic items which are all wondrous items except for one shield. They are mostly rare and very rare, with a couple of uncommon items and a single legendary (the shield). I won’t explain what all the items do, but suffice it to say they are extremely cool and in my opinion the designers have pitched the rarity levels just right. I’m sure you’ll really enjoy adding any of the items here to your game.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FPcrfcZV7n0/XdwMOVmk82I/AAAAAAAAN2E/TbfqLlCOeNMlnQWwqga_0DL9ZJ79aIw-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/MagicItems.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="547" height="580" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FPcrfcZV7n0/XdwMOVmk82I/AAAAAAAAN2E/TbfqLlCOeNMlnQWwqga_0DL9ZJ79aIw-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/MagicItems.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magic items (art by Shiah "Cinder" Irgangladen)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
One small quibble over wording in this section: The <i><b>Rootshape Gauntlets</b></i> have an effect that triggers “on a critical failure with any weapon created this way”. “Critical failure” is not a term used in the D&D rules. This could cause some confusion, and should be changed to “If the d20 roll for an attack you make with this weapon is a 1”, which would be consistent with the wording under Making an Attack in the PHB.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Organisation</h3>
<div>
There is no index, but the contents page is thorough and includes all the specific spells, monsters, etc. that you might wish to find. There's no problem here.<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>SCORE OUT OF 10:</b></span></td></tr>
<tr><td height="20 px"></td></tr>
<tr><td><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNIC9_rcKvM/XbNa-Ua55TI/AAAAAAAANlw/RTpP-1w_6MIJE8BUcCVpdVfQXn65wy--gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNIC9_rcKvM/XbNa-Ua55TI/AAAAAAAANlw/RTpP-1w_6MIJE8BUcCVpdVfQXn65wy--gCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D10_8.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="clear: both;">
Final Thoughts and Rating</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" border="0" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>FINAL SCORE OUT OF 20:</b></span></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="7" height="20 px"></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbPUStL1ER8/Xduf9ApVSII/AAAAAAAAN1I/ecFSlnPb13Ul7YL1-w54p_9LTESd2tbCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbPUStL1ER8/Xduf9ApVSII/AAAAAAAAN1I/ecFSlnPb13Ul7YL1-w54p_9LTESd2tbCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScores.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNIC9_rcKvM/XbNa-Ua55TI/AAAAAAAANlw/RTpP-1w_6MIJE8BUcCVpdVfQXn65wy--gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNIC9_rcKvM/XbNa-Ua55TI/AAAAAAAANlw/RTpP-1w_6MIJE8BUcCVpdVfQXn65wy--gCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D10_8.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>= </b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hqipgesPBY8/XdujcqLXCMI/AAAAAAAAN1U/K10wZZaoUlUCpihDCLk0Abf-9yMh6V1vQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_17.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hqipgesPBY8/XdujcqLXCMI/AAAAAAAAN1U/K10wZZaoUlUCpihDCLk0Abf-9yMh6V1vQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D20_17.jpg" width="120" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="7" height="10 px"></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>17 out of 20! A superb hit.</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<br />
To summarise the biggest issues (in my opinion):<br />
<ul>
<li>I think the chapters could be reordered more effectively to suit the format.</li>
<li>The lore sections, while excellent, would benefit from better organisation so that it’s easier to navigate to information you want to refer back to.</li>
<li>Some of the character options may need revisions for balance. This is not a major concern to me as it's a given for any publication - not even official releases by Wizards of the Coast are entirely without issue. One of the great things about PDFs is that it's a heck of a lot easier to implement any revisions than in print, a major strength of DMsGuild and OGL products compared to official releases that many consumers overlook.</li>
<li>I think the graphic designer should consider an alternative font for headings.</li>
</ul>
If these are the worst that can be said about this product then the creative team behind <i>AA:FotR</i> have done an excellent job, and they should be very proud of what they’ve put together. There is so much that’s good within the 50 pages of this book: well researched and evocatively presented lore, a bevy of mostly balanced and fun new character options, a great list of flora, some brilliant new creatures, and a selection of truly intriguing magic items. And great design: Nathanaël, if you’re reading this I know I keep giving you a hard time about fonts in my recent reviews. I want you to know that I see everything else you’re doing and it is solid work. Especially the tables. Oh lordy, the tables in this book. They’re chef’s kiss-level good (see the preview of the flora table earlier in this review!).<br />
<br />
The final word: <i>Amarune’s Almanac: Forests of the Realms</i> is an excellent addition to any DM’s library, and based on what I’ve seen here I can’t wait to see where Amarune takes us next time! Pick up your own copy on DMsGuild from the 2nd of December.<br />
<br />
<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-12828716687648664662019-11-24T14:37:00.000+00:002019-11-24T14:43:49.164+00:005e: Ghostwalker: Eidolon is now available on DMsGuild!My latest product is out now on <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/295502/Ghostwalker-Eidolon?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">DMsGuild.com</a>!<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/295502/Ghostwalker-Eidolon?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">Ghostwalker: Eidolon</a> </i>revisits the concept of Eidolons, or corporeal ghosts, which first appeared in the D&D 3.5 campaign setting Ghostwalk. <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/295502/Ghostwalker-Eidolon?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">Ghostwalker: Eidolon</a></i><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>converts the Eidolon and Eidoloncer classes to D&D 5e without relying on the lore of the Ghostwalk setting. Strictly setting neutral, you can use this product to create the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Ravnica, Eberron, or other setting of your choice. Furthermore, <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/295502/Ghostwalker-Eidolon?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">Ghostwalker: Eidolon</a></i><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>introduces the concept of soul anchors, portable items that have the power to bind a soul to the material plane and allow the recently deceased to manifest corporeally. Unlike a manifest ward which has a similar effect in a limited geographical region, soul anchors can be carried with the eidolon and allow it to continue taking part in adventures!<br />
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In addition to the Ghostwalker class itself, this product also includes additional character options including feats and spells!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ghostwalker: Eidolon</i> cover<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Preview pages from the interior of <i>Ghostwalker Eidolon</i>, featuring the art of Fabrizio Fioretti</td></tr>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/295502/Ghostwalker-Eidolon?affiliate_id=1048363" target="_blank">Ghostwalker: Eidolon</a></i><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>is a 30 page PDF which contains:<br />
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<li>Rules for Eidolons (ghosts made corporeal, eidolons can still walk the material plane and interact with the living).</li>
<li>The Ghostwalker class. A unique trait of the class is that it gets few core features. Instead, you get to decide for yourself what sort of ghostly powers your character develops by selecting 3 paths from a choice of 7: Corruptor, Dominator, Eidoloncer, Haunt, Poltergeist, Shaper, and Traveller. You can choose your 3 paths in any order, meaning that even two Ghostwalkers with the same paths can have different class feature progressions and thus a very different play experience. </li>
<li>3 new feats.</li>
<li>27 new magic spells.</li>
<li>Fantastic interior art by <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioART" target="_blank">Fabrizio Fioretti</a>.</li>
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<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-12716323627381197812019-10-25T23:11:00.002+01:002019-12-25T23:13:11.991+00:005e: Infamous Adversaries - a review.Today's post is a review is of <i>Benjamin Huffman presents: Infamous Adversaries</i>, an upcoming product for DMsGuild, which I will hereafter refer to as <i>Infamous Adversaries</i> or simply <i>IA</i>.<br />
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</b><b>Players should stop reading immediately. This is a book for Dungeon Masters</b>,<b> and I'll be briefly summarising all the excellent adversaries that might tempt your DM into buying this book and incorporating its content into your campaign. You'll have a lot more fun if you encounter them for the first time in-game!</b><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/sterlingvermin" target="_blank">Benjamin</a> is a best-selling DMsGuild creator whose previous credits include <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/245059/The-Complete-Martialist-Handbook" target="_blank"><i>The Complete Martialist Handbook</i></a>, <a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/279558/The-Complete-Devout-Handbook" target="_blank"><i>The Complete Devout Handbook</i></a>, and <i><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/184921/the-Pugilist-Class" target="_blank">The Pugilist</a></i>, among others. The Pugilist is one of my favourite third-party classes, a fact I've previously mentioned on this blog. In <i>Infamous Adversaries</i>, Benjamin and a team of other creators have put together a collection of 40 unique monsters and villains to use in your <i>D&D</i> games.<br />
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I was provided a copy for review but like always I endeavour to remain neutral and honest even when I'm a fan of a creator's previous work, and I call things like I see them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><em>The</em> <i><b>Infamous Adversaries</b></i> <em>Cover</em></td></tr>
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If you've read any of my other reviews you know I generally like to go into some detail. If you've not got the time for that, never fret! You can skip straight to the final thoughts and rating to get an overview of my findings. If you want that extra level of detail exploring just where my thoughts on the product come from, read on.<br />
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Value</h2>
<i>IA </i>has not yet been released to the public, and will be available for sale on the DMsGuild marketplace from Monday, October 28th with a retail price of $14.95. Excluding the cover page, credits, contents, and a blank page at the back <i>IA</i> comes in at a respectable 120 pages in the print friendly version. That's 12 and a half cents per page, which is great value! Especially considering the production values of the book (see quality, below). The colour version with art adds an additional 4 pages.<br />
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Quality</h2>
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<i>IA</i> will have both a full colour and a black and white print friendly version. The colour version includes art, some examples of which you can find interspersed throughout this review!</div>
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I don't want to dwell too much on the cover as it ultimately isn't important, but the art chosen is cool and evocative: I hope one of the monsters in this book is based on the creature on this cover! At the risk of being anal retentive it bothers me a little that the word "Adversaries" is neither centered or justified, since aligning it to the right doesn't feel like it matches the rest of the title. But it's a purely cosmetic quibble. As I said, the cover isn't really that important (though the outward appearance of the book might matter more if it is ever released in print). What matters is what's inside!</div>
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The interior has the standard two-column layout and the body text is clear. I'm less happy about the heading font, which is the same one used for the word "Infamous" on the cover. Big, bold, and all caps as it is on the cover it's perfectly clear; when it comes to reading the headings, it sometimes takes a moment to make sense of the letters. This is at its worst on the contents page.</div>
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Contents page font choice aside, the book's graphic design game is strong. Furthermore, it makes good use of art, though admittedly the art varies in quality and uses a combination of original art, stock art, and DMsGuild creator pack assets. This is normal for a DMsGuild product, however, and should be expected at the price point. Where existing art is used it's almost always fit for purpose, the sole exception in my opinion being the art chosen to illustrate the Auroc.</div>
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It's clear that the editor has approached the writing of the various contributors with a light touch that lets the voices of the authors shine through: throughout the book, the various adversaries are written up in a number of different styles. Whether this is a good thing or not is subjective. For me it was at times jarring to switch between styles when reading the text of multiple adversaries one after another, but not terribly so.</div>
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It's a rare product indeed that is entirely unscathed by grammatical and editorial issues. <i>IA </i>isn't immune and I encountered a few as I read through this book: chiefly grammar issues, such as a couple of particularly painful run-on sentences. On the other hand, it was remarkably free of typos: I only noticed a small number towards the end. I don't intend to go into nit-picky details about exactly what these errors are and where because it's not worth being overly concerned. There are really very few, your overall sense of the content isn't going to be critically impaired by them, and they don't make the book any less useful. Additionally, the beauty of a PDF product is the comparative ease with which the release version can be updated and disseminated to existing customers. For what it's worth, <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/p/proofreading.html" target="_blank">I offer proofreading services</a> if fresh eyes are desired.<br />
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Content</h2>
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As noted previously, this book contains 40 unique monsters and villains at a wide range of CRs. Bear in mind that the introduction makes clear that each adversary is a "unique take on an existing monster from <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>, with all the story hooks and statistics necessary to insert them in your game". This means that the majority of the adversaries are more powerful variants of monsters that already exist in <i>D&D</i>'s lore, usually with interesting new powers, and of course with all the useful hints for how to best use them in your game. If your primary motivation for buying a bestiary is expanding the diversity of the peoples and creatures of your homebrew world, you won't find that here. In most cases, an adversary is given 2-5 pages, with an average per creature of around 3 pages. A monster's entry is broken up into the following sections:</div>
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<b>The Hook</b>, a ready to use plot hook to integrate the creature into your campaign and involve your player characters.</div>
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<b>Next Moves</b> describes what the adversary will get up to assuming the player characters don't get in its way.</div>
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<b>Tactics</b> gives you the necessary information to roleplay the creature in combat, while <b>Traits</b> tells you what you need to know about their ideals, bonds, and flaws to portray them in a broader sense.</div>
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The <b>Statblock</b> corresponds to the informational format you've come to expect from <i>Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons</i>.</div>
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Lastly, a <b>Rewards</b> section defines what player characters will gain from defeating the adversary, other than notoriety and personal satisfaction! Rewards include magic items, treasures, and even access to new spells.</div>
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In some cases a map of the creature's lair is included to help you run their encounter, or additional sections are provided to aid in incorporating the creature and its lore into your campaign.<br />
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Adversaries</h3>
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In this section I'll summarise each of the 40 creatures in the book to give you an idea what to expect from each adversary. I'll also offer my thoughts on any highlights or perceived issues.</div>
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<b>1. Abigarrada (CR 9 Celestial)</b> is a couatl whose mind has been broken by arcane experimentation and wrongly perceives innocent humanoids as demons to purge. A unique feature is that Abigarrada's spells and unique powers are randomised every few rounds, reflecting the uncontrolled planar energies coursing through them. It is also immune to nonmagical damage unless the source of the damage corresponds to a particular trait defined by the couatl's current state, such as "flaming weapons", "wooden weapons", and "cursed weapons". This is pretty cool in theory, but in practice? Casters are fine either way. If non-casters have magical weapons, the immunities become a non-issue. But if not all of the party have magical weapons, then whoever doesn't can't meaningfully contribute to the encounter as they're not going to be carrying weapons that meet most of the criteria, and party spellcasters would almost certainly prefer to use their turn attacking than use it to help their fighter friend keep up for only the next two rounds. Combine this with Abigarrada's 90 ft. fly speed and non-casters are going to feel a bit useless in this encounter. I'm also not convinced Abigarrada should retain the couatl's change shape feature without at least a regular chance for it to fail: it doesn't really fit with the monster's story. If Abigarrada's mind is so chaotic they can't control their own natural form, how is it they can they maintain the form of another creature altogether?</div>
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<b>2. Aethlin Adamar (CR 10 Monstrosity)</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is an elf who was reshaped by Lolth into a misshapen drider for daring to court a drow. He is driven by a thirst for vengeance but the target of his revenge has lost its specificity after a long time alone in the dark. He hunts elves and half-elves, particularly nobles. Aethlin is what happens when you combine a drider statblock with the features of a School of Bladesinging Wizard. He's also a legendary creature</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">though he belongs to the subset of legendary creatures that lack lair mechanics. The tactics section recommends pairing him with phase spider allies, which on top of his spellcasting, Bladesong, and legendary actions is sure to make it a</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">grueling</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> encounter!</span></div>
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<b>3.</b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span><b>Alchemical Cube (CR 4 Ooze)</b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a gelatinous cube poluted by alchemical substances. This creature stands out as an oddity. Since it's an unintelligent ooze it has no "next moves", no "tactics", and no "traits". In other words, it doesn't feel like it belongs in this book: it feels like a generic monster that could belong in any bestiary. As you'll see going forward through this list, it won't be the last that could be described this way and I'll have more comments on that when I sum up. That said, the alchemical cube is at least a fun monster! It's full of alchemical sacs which burst when enough damage is dealt, spreading throughout the ooze and imbuing it with additional strengthening properties. On a critical hit a sac sprays its content outward, splashing a player character the benefit of its alchemical properties.</span></div>
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<b><b>4. Anhktepot (CR 25 Undead, or 26 in his lair)</b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">is a mummy lord who in life slaughtered thousands in his quest for immortality and cursed the gods when he failed. Ra cursed him with a twisted immortality, and his lands shared his twisted fate, becoming a demiplane of dread. This guy is oozing flavour, but takes a little more work to use as you can't just slip him into a location of your choice: characters have to come to him, not the other way around. Given his CR, this guy is probably either your campaign's primary antagonist, or the adversary you select when you finish your main campaign and realise you're not ready to say goodbye to the player characters just yet. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Once you've figured out how to get the player characters to </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anhktepot's Dread Domain </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">of </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Har'Akir, the hard part is done. Actually planning adventures in the domain itself is considerable easier, since </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">there are extra sections in his entry to flesh out the important characteristics of the domain as well as the adventuring site of Anhktepot's tomb. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anhktepot is a particularly powerful version of a mummy lord with a few unique capabilities, including the ability to grapple creatures with his linen wraps, conjure an eclipse, and summon a dragon ally via the <i>gate</i> spell. It should make for a pretty spectacular boss fight! </span></b></div>
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5. Archibald Sinister (CR 3 Elemental) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is an unusually intelligent gargoyle who guarded a Zhentarim college of wizards until it was attacked by agents of the Harpers. He is now on a quest for vengeance against that organisation which has taken him to Waterdeep. Sinister's statblock is only slightly different from a regular gargoyle, though he can summon mephits. What makes him special is that although he isn't a legendary creature, he has the unique ability to rapidly establish a lair wherever he is by making contact with cut and worked stone. This is a very cool mechanic that makes him a particularly dangerous hunter on the rooftops and in the alleys of Waterdeep. A missed opportunity here is that although Sinister's lore tells us he enjoys using wordplay to trick people, this characteristic is not reflected by a Deception skill nor a unique feature in his statblock. </span></h4>
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6. Ausroc (CR 13 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is an intelligent variant roc called the "faux-phoenix". It chooses to live in volcanic areas, where it can take advantage of magma flows to set fire to logs which it can drop on prey. There's not much more to say about this one: the ausroc's unusual intelligence and tactical savvy, along with burning log drop feature, are its unique selling points. </span></h4>
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7. Baxter Brundle (CR 5 Humanoid Shapechanger) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is a classic self-experimenting mad scientist</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> His initially well-intentioned research on lycanthropy escalated to an obsession and has resulted in him becoming the world's first werestirge. With an arsenal that includes unique lycanthropic abilities, stirge allies, wizard spellcasting, as well as legendary and lair actions; Brundle is a formidable encounter for characters reaching the end of the heroic tier. This section includes an additional Swarm of Stirges statblock.</span></h4>
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8. Beast of the Eternal Blaze (CR 5 Fiend Shapechanger) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is a unique fiendish wereboar. The Beast is a violent and sadistic killer, but is also looking for a soul evil and foolish enough to consume the Beast's heart, which is the method by which the fiend prolongs its stay on the Material Plane. Aside from the combat abilities you'd expect from a wereboar, the Beast is also able to hurl hellfire and use legendary actions. One of the latter is a fun ability called Number of the Beast, which deals 6d6 + 6 (get it?) fire damage and curses the target with disadvantage on its attacks.</span></h4>
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9. <span style="font-weight: normal;">A </span>Black Nightmare (CR 6 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is an extremely large displacer beast which becomes master of its pride and leads them on aggressive campaigns against blink dogs and humanoids near its territory. This is one of the less interesting monsters in the book, as it really is just a bigger, tougher version of the standard displacer beast. It does get legendary actions, but they're the default detect, move, and attack. </span></h4>
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10. Cheddar (CR 1/4 Beast) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is a rat who was awakened by a druid and has since embarked on a life as crime, forming a thieves guild named the Cheesemongers. With the ability to call rat swarms with his legendary actions and summon bandits or trigger traps with his lair actions, Cheddar is a much nastier boss than his CR would suggest if he's played correctly. In theory Cheddar and his guild would be best suited for some comic relief in between more serious adventures, but owing to his low CR that might not be practical without buffing him. My suggestion is to build an adventure around him next time you need to run a one-shot! </span></h4>
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11. Chief Klanklack (CR 8 Humanoid) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is a kobold who stumbled upon a workshop left by a modron which was once stranded on the material plane. After learning how to control some of the workshop's wonders, she used the automatons she reactivated to unite the kobolds in the region. Her minions are equipped with mechanical gadgetry that allows them to terrorise other humanoids in the area. Klanklack wears what is essentially magical power armour, complete with a beam (read: laser) cannon, a flamethrower, and a lightning whip! She also has some great lair actions involving reinforcements and mechanical traps. Klanklack and her tribe ought to be extremely fun for the DM to run: Tucker's Kobolds meets magipunk. </span></h4>
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12. Dione the Beautiful (CR 10 Giant) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is a vain cloud giant who made a fiendish pact to eternally secure her beauty, only to be inflicted with a curse that turns creatures to stone. While she may not be wildly original, Dione serves as an excellent example of how to take two monsters (in this case, the Cloud Giant and the Medusa) and combine their statblocks together into something new. She also has legendary actions, which she can use to attack and cast spells.</span></h4>
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13. Ebonbeak (CR 7 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is billed as the "original owlbear", a monstrosity fueled by its hatred of the wizardry and magic which created it. It has been hibernating since who knows how long, but its sleep has been disturbed and it is very, very angry: woe betide any arcane spellcaster caught in its path! Take an owlbear, make it bigger and tougher, give it extreme resilience towards magic (especially arcane magic), and add a handful of innate spells and a thunderous screech legendary action. That's Ebonbeak! He ought to be a fun little encounter, though might be frustrating for the party spellcasters (of course, that's the point). What I like best about him is the way he playfully expands on the lore of an iconic creature. There's also a fun new spell here that combines two beasts into one creature, and a bonus statblock of one example: the Mulelion. As an aside, reader, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237249/Monstrous-Monograph-Monstrosities-Volume-I" target="_blank">I happen to sell a product that lets you create hybrid beasts like the owlbear</a>. It would pair very nicely with adventures involving this particular adversary and the wizard who created it! And it happens to be reduced by 50% until the end of October! </span></h4>
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14. Enlightened Piercers (each a CR 1 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: normal;">are crystalline piercer that resembles quartz and have unprecedented intelligence and cunning for their kind. Their numbers and intelligence are growing with each successive generation. Conceptually, these monsters rely on the notion that crystals have inherent psionic properties. If you're familiar with psionic lore from previous editions that's a given, but since we don't have official psionics support in <i>Fifth Edition</i> yet I think this connection could have been made clearer in the text for the benefit of newer DMs. Individually the enlightened piercers are quite weak. In fact, there's only a little in their statblock to separate them from a regular piercer. What makes them unique is the fact that they lair in groups called clutches, and each enlightened piercer in the clutch's lair can take advantage of a lair action each round, for 8 lair actions total. A combination of stun effects and hide bonuses in the lair actions could make this encounter a lot more threatening than it looks at first blush. There's also no reason you can't increase the immediate threat by increasing the size of the clutch the characters encounter, or the long term threat by spreading multiple clutches throughout the underdark.</span></h4>
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15. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The</span> Eye of Frost (CR 14 Beholder, or 15 in its lair) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a variant beholder with ice-themed powers: its central eye emits a cone of cold energy rather than antimagic, and several of its eye rays replace a beholder's normal effects with icy alternatives. Eye of Frost can also take advantage of some great ice-themed lair actions that change the landscape of the battle.</span></h4>
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16. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span>Giant Crawling Claw (CR 3 Undead) <span style="font-weight: normal;">is the horrifying guardian of the island lair of a coven of three sea hags. Aside from its size what sets this creature apart from a standard crawling clear is its ability to leap large distances, which is a pretty horrifying image. To be honest, I think the designers should consider beefing it up a bit more if they ever revise the book. The three sea hags that made it are each worth CR 4 because they're part of a coven, which means a party capable of dealing with them will trivialise their supposed guardian. As it stands, I would either use more than one of these things or consider creative alternative lore.</span> </h4>
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17. Grand Sabaar (CR 11 Plant) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a huge saguaros cactus that has been awakened through exposure to ambient magic. It has powerful physical attacks and an extremely nasty needle attack that deals d100 damage! It can also split into smaller creatures when damaged by slashing weapons, much like an ooze does. Grand Sabaar is the first of these adversaries to have a good alignment. Normally this is a tricky quality when designing a monster for publication because a full statblock for a creature that most parties are more likely to talk to than fight might be considered wasted space. In this case, the scenario hook sets events up so that the characters are likely to antagonise Grand Sabaar before they realise it's not a mere plant. They still might be able to apologise and talk their way out of any additional unnecessary aggression, but that depends on them. </span></h4>
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18. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The</span> Jabberkoth (CR 16 Undead, but with scaling guidance for CRs 13, 9, 6, or 4) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is perhaps best described as a zombie dragon, the result of a dracolich ritual gone awry. There's a lot of story potential in this adversary, because the mind of the good dragon who was the victim of the Cult of the Dragon's ritual is still in there somewhere. Dealing with the Jabberkoth could involve as much a social interaction as combat encounter—probably at the same time! The Jabberkoth has a rotting breath that deals necrotic damage and can raise creatures it kills as undead. This breath weapon is all the more dangerous because it can be used again as a legendary action, and any targets close to the Jabberkoth become vulnerable to necrotic damage due to its aura of decay! A useful sidebar provides guidance on how to adjust the Jabberkoth to lower CRs. </span></h4>
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19. Kranklob'Obgund (CR 9 Monstrosity on her own, but usually part of an encounter equivalent to a CR 19 creature. Guidance is given for alternative encounters equivalent to CRs 13 or 21) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is an oversized roper which migrates through the underdark carrying her smaller roper and piercer children. She has a hatred for drow and prefers to eat them. However, since she can't tell drow and other humanoids apart, her actual hunting is indiscriminate. Kranklob'Obgund is fundamentally just a much bigger and more dangerous version of the roper, but this does give her the ability to swallow creatures whole. Furthermore, one of her legendary actions allows her to hurl a piercer up to the ceiling, from where it will be able to make another attack. Encounters with her family are likely to be nasty affairs!</span></h4>
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20. Leda Altmar (CR 5 Fiend) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a courtesan with fiendish powers owing to a heretofore unknown diabolic heritage (she thinks she is a tiefling, but is actually a cambion). Leda is a classic manipulator villain, pulling strings and ensnaring the player characters in her machinations from a distance for as long as possible. Her statblock resembles that of a typical cambion with a few changes, the most significant of which is a feature which allows her to charm creatures for an extended period of time if they have already fallen prey to the fiendish charm action multiple times previously. Obviously it's up to you to decide what NPCs are already victim to this extended charm effect, but it could be a genuine threat to player characters too if they fall victim to her tricks enough times over the course of a campaign!</span></h4>
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21. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span>Leechking (CR 6 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a nightmare made flesh: check your players won't be triggered by this wriggling horror! Technically, the leechking is a swarm of leeches that have mutated and formed a hive mind, but they can wriggle together into a larger form made from the swarm collective. The design of this creature is handled sensibly, as it's got the same challenge rating and posesses legendary actions in both its swarm and "golem" forms. Its hit points carry over when it transitions between forms. I prefer the swarm form since the devour and envelop actions are so scary, but the size of its golem form grows as the leeches are fed (ie. when they reduce a creature to 0 hit points), which introduces a fun mechanic. Small quibble: in my opinion the rules for this growth really ought to be described in a within both statblocks, not the Tactics section. I would argue that I only want to read the Tactics section in advance of the fight, and if I need to look anything mechanical </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">during the fight it should all be in one place. </span></h4>
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22. Liu Shui (CR 8 Undead) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a revenant who seeks revenge on the couple that drowned her, but is thwarted by their magical protections. Driven mad, she has taken to attacking innocents who venture too near the site of her drowning. The hook provided suggests that the party be hired to kill Liu Shui, so whether they ever find out the true story will depend very much on the party! Whether they learn that they've been duped or not, they'll attain excellent rewards for resolving the matter. Liu Shui has some unique features for a revenant themed around her connection to water: she can teleport to bodies of water, and has an action to drown a creature and take its body for her own. </span></h4>
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23. Madadh (CR 5 Fiend, but with scaling guidance - note that the CRs of the scaled versions are not given) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a powerful three-headed hellhound who was bred to guard a portal from the Nine Hell to the Material Plane, but has slipped his leash and is causing havoc across the countryside. The hook provided has the adventurers approached and hired by an imp named Beag who is responsible for Madadh. They can either kill the hellhound or return it through the gateway, with different rewards associated with each approach.</span></h4>
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24. Madcap Mraz (CR 6 Humanoid) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a goblin who accidentally consumed fungi that had absorbed nutrients from an ooze. He began seeing visions from Ghaunadaur, god of mad abominations. He now leads a monstrous army to spread ruin and madness in his master's name! Mraz combines the features of a goblin and a cleric, and he is equipped with a magical staff that shares the property of a gray ooze to dissolve armour. If encountered in his mushroom-overgrown throne room he has oozes and goblins at his command, and has lair actions to cause mushrooms to explode in a cloud of blinding spores, as well summon goblin fanatics (a statblock is provided for this creature).</span></h4>
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25. Margrim (CR 7 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a legendary version of the bulette, with some nasty multiple target options on its legendary action menu. Burrowing Assault in particular has a cool visual, with Margrim burrowing underground and attacking a line as it passes.</span></h4>
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26. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span>Mirrorborn (CR 5 Monstrosity Shapechanger) <span style="font-weight: 400;">are a cautionary tale against spending too long in front of a mirror. They're variant doppelgangers that dwell within mirrors and become obsessed with a particular person whose life they attempt to claim. They can only shapechange into the form of their obsession. They can walk through mirrors (pair them with a hall of mirrors to increase their tactical options!) and as a legendary action use abilities and attacks that belong to the subject of their obsession.</span></h4>
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27. Neith-Arach (CR 4 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is shudder-some if you're an arachnophobe. A deadly giant spider created by drow Lolth worshippers, she has many arachnid minions and the ability to charm her prey into walking straight to their doom. In my opinion she should be an excellent and memorable encounter, but I think there's a missed opportunity here by not including a web-themed set of lair actions. Might be something you'd want to whip up for your own game!</span></h4>
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28. Nocri Dragonwing (CR 4 Dragon, or 5 if she has laid her egg) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a unique draconid somewhere between drake and true dragon, born out of mysterious circumstances unknown even to her. Her kobold minions grow bolder as they gather treasures for her hoard along with other, stranger items to satisfy Nocri's increasingly erratic cravings. Unbeknownst to Nocri, she is about to lay an egg. Nocri's most unique feature as a leader of monsters is her protective instincts, which allow her to protect her allies. She can also fly into a Barbarian-like rage if her egg is harmed.</span></h4>
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29. Ondual (CR 18 Celestial) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a Planetar angel who fell to corruption and has embarked on a personal quest to quash the forces of evil among mortalkind, no matter what unseemly actions it must itself take to achieve its ends. After taking control of a fort on the Sword Coast, Ondual intends to expand his influence across Toril and take charge of mortalkind to save them from themselves. To me, Ondual is one of the stand-out villains of <i>IA</i>, his good intentions twisted by millennia of ceaseless and thankless toils against the forces of opposing alignments and the foolish fickleness of mortals. His unique powers are themed around oppression and tyranny, which means events in play might be triggering for some players. Handle him with care, and he ought to be one of the most memorable villains of your campaign. </span></h4>
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30. Reijla (CR 5 Fiend Hag) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a night hag who has made a pact with Dendar the Night Serpent, a primordial whose portfolio is nightmares. Dendar featured in the last campaign I DMed and a recent campaign I played in, so I have a soft spot for her which immediately elevates Reijla to among my favourite adversaries in this book. It helps that his backstory is creative and his scheme grand and terrible: he uses sand from the Demiplane of Nightmares to corrupt mortals dreams and kill them in their sleep. This feeds Dendar but also allowing him to lay claim to their souls when they arrive in the Nine Hells, empowering both of them. Reijla is based on the night hag statblock, but he can summon chain devil mercenaries and cause nightmares. If you move his killing spree to Baldur's Gate Reijla would be a good side-quest for characters in the <i>Descent into Avernus</i> campaign: you could have them stumble into his schemes before they leave Baldur's Gate. If not dealt with at the time, they might get a second chance when they encounter Reijla directly in Avernus. </span></h4>
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31. Scarlet Stone-Eater (CR 2 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is bigger than your average cockatrice, and her name suggests she's developed the extraordinary ability to eat stone. That naturally pairs very well with a cockatrice's natural capacity to turn a creature to stone, which has become the Scarlet Stone-Eater's hunting strategy as opposed to merely a defensive mechanism. Her geovore ability ("consumer of stone", if like me you're not up on your latin) does double damage against stone which means Scarlet Stone-Eater is a sort of hyper-specialised Siege Monster. In my mind's eye I see an encounter where a low level party are barricaded into a cottage and she starts tearing through the wall. The Scarlet Stone-Eater also gains a screech ability. Interestingly enough, instead of thunder damage (the usual choice for sonic attacks) this deals psychic damage and disadvantage on saving throws vs petrification). A magical screech, then!</span></h4>
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32. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span>Sea-Ambling Mound (CR 5 Plant) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a shambling mound that has adapted to hunting underwater, and plagues the boats of fisherfolk! Its preferred hunting ground means it has the option of drowning a creature it engulfs, and its long survival and experience of fighting humanoids has taught it to disarm creatures it engulfs to make them more vulnerable should they escape its grasp. </span></h4>
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33. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span>Spell Eater (CR 2 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a rust monster which has become warped by consuming a vein of iron ore contaminated by the magic of a decaying mythal. It has grown to unusual size and gained the capacity to feed on magic itself. This monster is conceptually very cool, and its mechanics are strong: when it "eats" magic it does so by functionally casting <i>dispel magic </i>and gaining temporary hit points. It can un-attune magic items by draining their magic through contact. All well and good, and a nasty encounter to be sure! Even so I'm left slightly disappointed that despite the implication that this monster is very dangerous to magic users, they actually suffer less than martial characters. Why is that? Well, it's still a rust monster so </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">nonmagical weapons and armour can still suffer the normal rusting effects of a rust monster. On top of this, a martial character's magic weapons have a 50% chance of being un-attuned every time they attack.</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">For martial characters, weapons and armour are an essential part of their function and penalties to their use are painful. I had hoped that this monster would be similarly punishing for spellcasters, but they get off comparatively lightly since whatever equipment they lose they still have unfettered access to their magic. Yes, that magic might be dispelled, but having it dispelled after you cast it has no long-term effects on core functionality the way losing equipment can for a warrior. Maybe it should go after spell focuses and component pouches? </span></h4>
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34. Tenser's Experimental Armor (CR 20 Construct) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is what happens when an archmage's experimental spells go horribly wrong. There's some real fun lore attached to this one, illustrating the possible consequences when a mage even of Tenser's caliber tries to create a new spell. The armour is a sentient magic item which is treated as a construct. It is worn by an unwilling dwarf who the armour has been forcing to learn wizardry with the ultimate goal of recreating the conditions in which it were made and thus forming an army! T</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">he armour is animated so capable of fighting on even without a wearer, but figuring out a way to help the dwarf escape would take away its access to spellcasting and vastly simplify things.</span></h4>
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35. Varesso Isaro (CR 5 Undead) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a wight, I believe (it's not spelled out in the text, but contextually it seems appropriate). I really like his background, which is that of a naive officer who conquered on behalf of a corrupt authority, then was executed for war crimes after a regime change. Glowing flowers bloom where he walks, a magical echo of the flowers he planted in the wake of his conquests while alive. Though Varesso and his gathered undead conquer indiscriminately now, he recognises settlements that have architecture resembling his former homeland as allies and will even come to their protection, giving you plenty of scope for interesting engagements. I think Varesso would make a great antagonist for a short arc, except for one thing: there's a gotcha here that might catch out inexperienced Dungeon Masters. Namely that as written, his honour won't allow him to escape from battle: tactically retreat to another location to set up an ambush yes, but not escape the battle altogether in order to survive and fight another day. This is a characteristic that means you should expect the player characters to defeat Varesso shortly after encountering him in battle, if not right then and there. At best I wouldn't expect him to survive the adventuring day. If you'd like to have him recur for a while you'll either need to get creative or remove this particular trait. </span></h4>
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36. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span>Venus Hydrap (CR 10 Plant) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a legendary carnivorous plant monster created by a non-traditional mad scientist type: a gardener! Its creation was meant to be the solution to a gopher infestation, but it's out of control. The Venus Hydrap has two heads and can grow more when the existing ones are cut off (Venus Flytrap + Hydra, get it?).</span></h4>
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37. <span style="font-weight: normal;">The </span>Vorpal Flying Sword (CR 8 Construct) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is exactly what it sounds like: an animated <i>vorpal longsword.</i> In this case, the sword is imbued with a bloodthirsty intelligence. Be wary of this monster: players have fun when they get to instantly behead a monster; they're likely to have a lot less fun when it happens to them. It's equivalent to the Save or Die effects from 3rd edition which Wizards of the Coast have been careful not to replicate in 5th. For this reason I'm not sure I'd personally use the Vorpal Flying Sword and question the sense of its inclusion. If I'm wrong and there are groups that might enjoy this monster, then in my opinion it should at least be re-balanced to a higher CR because its current rating is likely to cause more drama at the table. CR 8 looks like a monster characters might face at around 5th or 6th level, but I would only consider this monster somewhat safe to use if my players had access to <i>raise dead</i>, which becomes available at 9th character level at the earliest). If you choose to use the Vorpal Flying Sword, consider referring to the monster creation guidelines in the <i>Dungeon Master's Guide</i> and buffing it to around CR 11 or 12.</span></h4>
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38. Wyrmslayer (CR 16 Monstrosity) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is unusually cunning and mighty manticore which has developed potent abilities for fighting and slaying dragons. Her children, wyrmslayer spawn, inherit many of these characteristics. Compared to some of the other monstrosities in this book I really like Wyrmslayer as she is an intelligent entity capable of short-term strategy and long-term goals. While the provided hook positions her as an enemy (the characters are requested to aid a silver dragon), there's potential there for more complex relations: after all, she's killing chromatic dragons, too. </span></h4>
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39. Zuphrezask (CR 14 Aberration) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a unique mind flayer. Traditionally, the illithids can only create more of their kind by transplant one of their tadpoles into the brain of a humanoid creature. Clearly a group of illithid have been experimenting, as they've created a unique mind flayer ogre. Zuprezask leads a heretic cult of Thoon and attacks other illithids. It might seem wise to just leave him to it, but surviving mind flayers and their servants are dispersing out through the underdark, creating a ripple effect of disruption and displacement that even reaches the surface. Plus, he believes by consuming "quintessence" from brains he can become a god: what happens when he runs out of mind flayers and moves on to other peoples? And what happens if he's</span> right<span style="font-weight: 400;">?</span></h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><em>Zuphrezask</em></td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
40. Zyldrohar (CR 30 Construct) <span style="font-weight: 400;">is the last adversary in the book, and fittingly its most powerful. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">I mentioned earlier that I hoped one of the adversaries would actually reflect the monster on the cover: well, this is that adversary! Don't expect any swarm-like abilities from all those ravens seen in the art though. There are no mechanics related to these birds, they're simply a part of the monster's lore and aesthetic: They're constantly swarming around it, pecking at its flesh. Zyldrohar is end of the end-game, apocalyptic level dangerous, and indeed that's the hook that goes along with this monster: powerful, trusted oracles are predicting that all life comes to an abrupt end within a year. Depending on how quickly you like characters to level in the context of in-game time, you can build your entire campaign or at least a good chunk of it around the coming of Zyldrohar. In combat, Zyldrohar is extremely nasty as you'd expect from a CR monster. It's harmful just to stand in its vicinity, its an extremely potent spellcaster, it becomes twice as tough after being reduced to half hit points and when it hits zero hit points... well, let's just say one turn of sheer insanity happens before Zyldrohar is truly defeated. Even in claiming victory for the world, the player characters and anyone else fighting with them may find themselves suffering personal defeat. Those are damned epic stakes, but the likely mixed outcome may leave some players feeling cold so you may wish to give them the opportunity to learn about</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Zyldrohar's powers over oblivion and make preparations to lessen the effects on themselves and their allies. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Phew! That's a lot of adversaries. As you can see there are a lot of fun monsters in</span> <i style="font-weight: 400;">IA</i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Even if you only find a use for one or two in your current campaign, apply that expectation across all your future</span> <i style="font-weight: 400;">Fifth Edition</i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">campaigns and it becomes clear just how much value you can get out of this content. </span></h4>
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<h3>
Rewards</h3>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The rewards for defeating a given adversary are a real highlight of this book: they are fun and are in many cases very creative. I'm not going to summarise every rewards the same way I summarised the adversaries because there would be so much to write: there are generally multiple rewards associated with each adversary. The types of rewards are wildly varied and are thematic to the adversary with which they're associated: there are magic items of course, but also alchemical concoctions, cooking ingredients, crafting materials, access to new lairs, and more. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">I particularly love the optional thematic spells! Rather than learning these from scrolls in a monster's treasure hoard, these are presented as boons that the DM can award to any spellcasting player characters who participated in an adversary's defeat! It's a real fun concept. </span></h4>
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<h3>
Organisation</h3>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><i>Infamous Adversaries</i> has a contents page which does its job perfectly well (though as I've previously noted, I'd prefer a more legible font). The last page of the book is also a thorough index. Relying on the contents page to tell you where each adversary's description begins, this index focuses entirely on the crunch content: new spells, rewards, and stat blocks. Accordingly it's broken up into three sections, one for each type, which makes it even easier to use. </span></span></h4>
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<h3>
Analysis </h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Now I want to do a tiny bit of analysis. I wouldn't necessarily do this for a larger bestiary, but 40 creatures is a manageable amount so it isn't too difficult to tally up the numbers.</span></div>
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<h4 style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">First, let's look at the distribution of creature types in this book: </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-51TX5TA03TQ/Xa45QHpHAAI/AAAAAAAANkc/uLBvDXKatwozjT3hBJuPHhDNiivxb1zcACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/InfamousAdversariesCreatureTypes.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="765" height="404" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-51TX5TA03TQ/Xa45QHpHAAI/AAAAAAAANkc/uLBvDXKatwozjT3hBJuPHhDNiivxb1zcACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/InfamousAdversariesCreatureTypes.png" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<h4 style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Almost every creature type is represented, except one: fey. I'm really genuinely surprised by this. The tricky, scheme loving fey are practically adversarial to their very core and would have been perfect for this collection. Even leaving that aside, it feels like a missed opportunity not to include at least one fey and give each monster type representation. </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Monstrosities are over-represented, with 13 (or 33%) of the adversaries in this book belonging to the monstrosity type. I'm personally inclined to the opinion that most of the monstrosities, plants, and oozes in this book are ill-fit for the book's premise</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">—it's not that they're monstrosities, strictly speaking. It's that they typically </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">lack intelligence and therefore can't take full advantage of the book's format: their Tactics, Traits, and Next Moves sections don't particularly inspire. Additionally the lore doesn't always sell you on the notion that the creature is truly unique, and it may have only one or two new abilities compared to a normal creature of its type: when this happens you could imagine it appearing as a mere variant in any old monster collection, not helping to justify its inclusion among other more compelling adversaries. There are notable exceptions, such as Aethlin Adamar and Wyrmslayer, and these are the ones I'd personally have chosen to keep. In place of the others I would have liked to have seen a few more aberrations, giants, humanoids, and yes: fey. Possibly a true dragon wouldn't have gone amiss, either.</span></h4>
<h4 style="font-weight: normal;">
</h4>
<h4 style="font-weight: normal;">
The fact that I think some of the monsters don't suit the collection should not leave you with the impression I dislike said monsters. As I've said, I'd simply see them fitting in better as part of a different bestiary.</h4>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">I also want to take a look at the CR distribution of <i>IA</i>'s adversaries. In the chart below, blue reflects the base CR of all 40 adversaries. Red reflects alternative CRs offered for any reason: be it a CR that applies when a circumstance changes (eg. when Nocri Dragonwing lays her egg), when scaled down variants are provided (eg. The Jabberkoth), or when the adversary is presented in one or more encounter configurations which are measured by CR (eg. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kranklob'Obgund).</span></h4>
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What we learn here is that the project lead has done a solid job of ensuring that all tiers of play are reflected and that there is an adversary for most CRs. The distribution skews very heavily to the low end of play, with CR 5 being extremely well-represented. This is actually reasonable, since research by WotC shows that most play is actually at lower levels, and CR 5-6 is appropriate for a boss for adventures in the late heroic tier (levels 1-4). This is a book designed for the play experience most groups actually have, rather than the aspiration of a longer campaign that may never come to pass.</div>
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<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>SCORE OUT OF 10:</b></span></td></tr>
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Final Thoughts and Rating</h2>
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<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>FINAL SCORE OUT OF 20:</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMjF4yrPo70/XbNYbEoiLtI/AAAAAAAANlc/c3NJkFm-dIYekjPgndO-hWlq4yoa-ysHACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D4_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANlo/x7Nl8OK-bUYSB8vAtWtshnZw5ipor0BRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjwDoelVROo/XbNaRacxXyI/AAAAAAAANlo/x7Nl8OK-bUYSB8vAtWtshnZw5ipor0BRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D6_4.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>+</b></span></td><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNIC9_rcKvM/XbNa-Ua55TI/AAAAAAAANlw/RTpP-1w_6MIJE8BUcCVpdVfQXn65wy--gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DiceScore_D10_8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNIC9_rcKvM/XbNa-Ua55TI/AAAAAAAANlw/RTpP-1w_6MIJE8BUcCVpdVfQXn65wy--gCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/DiceScore_D10_8.jpg" width="120" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><b>= </b></span></td><td><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rZ8VM7REzAY/XbNbAfgPexI/AAAAAAAANl8/qldAhqwat1ASOei1ziiOaG5ZBuYeMS14QCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/DiceScore_D20_16.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="283" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rZ8VM7REzAY/XbNbAfgPexI/AAAAAAAANl8/qldAhqwat1ASOei1ziiOaG5ZBuYeMS14QCPcBGAYYCw/s200/DiceScore_D20_16.jpg" width="120" /></a> </td></tr>
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<tr><td colspan="7"><span style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>16 out of 20! A superb hit.</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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This book is stuffed full of great monsters, hooks, and treasures!<br />
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That said, going into a book called <i>Infamous Adversaries</i> I had some expectations for the type of opponent that would feature which weren't always delivered. Your expectations may be different<span style="background-color: white; color: #494949; font-family: "ddg_proximanova" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_0" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_1" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_2" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_3" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_4" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_5" , "ddg_proximanova_ui_6" , "proxima nova" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "segoe ui" , "nimbus sans l" , "liberation sans" , "open sans" , "freesans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;">—</span>indeed they <b>should</b> be different now you've read this review! To me, a giant version of an existing unintelligent monstrosity with a motivation as simple as terrorising the countryside doesn't cut it. It's not true of all the monstrosities, but in general I found them the least interesting adversaries in the book. Their Tactics sections often boil down to "they're animals so they act like animals do". A similar complaint can be levied against the Alchemical Cube and plants such as the Sea-Ambling Mound and Venus Hydrap, with the added issue that these creatures aren't even considered intelligent enough to have any traits listed in the Traits section. So many of the monsters in this book failing to take advantage of the collection's choice of format seems a great shame to me. In many of these cases the adversary often doesn't feel as unique as I'd have expected based on the premise, since there could easily be more than one of their kind in the world.<br />
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To sum up: some of these monsters feel more like fodder than adversaries, as well as generic enough they could belong in any bestiary rather than this themed collection. Considering they make up a little over a third of the included adversaries, that's a shame.</div>
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<b>However, please note:</b> I might quibble over whether some of the monsters within truly belong in this particular book, and I might wish that other more unique adversaries had been in their place. But I'm definitely <b>not</b> saying that any of these creatures are a waste of ink. I'm ultimately here to judge the product on its usefulness to you, and all these monsters are still potentially useful. For that reason the impact on my contents score was minor.</div>
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The adversaries in this book that I really loved were those that were intelligent foes with complex machinations. These properly take advantage of the format with compelling Tactics, Traits and Next Moves. Fortunately, there are a healthy collection of this type in the book too. I do wish there had been even one Fey adversary. After Fiends, Fey are probably the best suited creature type to a long-term adversarial relationship with player characters, and their absence is conspicuous. There's really fertile ground here left untouched.<br />
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I highly appreciate that some of the adversaries have scaling guidance as it makes them even more useful to more groups, but it's a shame that the approach is inconsistent. For instance the guidelines for the Jabberkoth give the adjusted CR, while the guidelines for Madadh do not. Similarly, giving an "encounter CR" for Kranklob'Obgund may be useful, but this kind of approach to factoring in minions isn't used elsewhere in the book. Similar inconsistencies occur in the handling of minion monsters: some adversaries include extra statblocks for their minions, while others simply list the necessary modifications to an existing statblocks.<br />
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I may not have spent as much time on the rewards for defeating adversaries as I did the adversaries themselves, but I really appreciated them as much as the monsters themselves. There are so many: in many cases, three or four per adversary. There is such a wide and creative variety. Some of the most fun are raw materials that can be harvested from the creature as well as spells that characters can learn through the creature's defeat.</div>
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<i>Infamous Adversaries</i> may not be perfect (but what is?). It is, however, excellent. At $14.95 for all this great content, it's an extremely worthy addition to any Dungeon Master's toolkit. If you want to pick it up you'll find it on DMsGuild starting next Monday, October 28th! </div>
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spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-48981785575031455342019-09-06T20:38:00.001+01:002019-09-06T20:42:25.251+01:005e: Hacking the Game, Horizon Zero Dawn Part II<div>
<b><a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/08/5e-hacking-game-horizon-zero-dawn-part-i.html" target="_blank">Read Part I of this series</a>!</b><br />
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Last time, we covered the general themes and gameplay elements this game hack seeks to support in play. We also talked about the concept of character taxonomy in <i>D&D</i> and how <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> reworks that taxonomy. Finally, we made a start on changes to the rules as they apply to player characters: specifically, we went into how <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> handles abilities and hit points. This week, I'd like to talk about the hack's alternative to classes: the Hunter, a single overarching origin to which all player characters belong.<br />
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<h2>
The Hunter</h2>
<i><b>Note: a complete first draft of the hunter is already written and available for you to read: <a href="http://5ezd.wikidot.com/5ezd:characters:hunter" target="_blank">you can find it here</a>. Please take a look as you follow along with the rest of this article!</b></i><br />
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As the only "class" in the game, the hunter has to achieve two goals.<br />
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First, to quote myself from Part I, "characters need to have the necessary abilities that they can engage with parts of the game players are naturally going to expect when you tell them they're going to be playing in the world of <i>Horizon Zero Dawn"</i>. The burden is therefore on the Hunter to provide all characters the necessary capabilities to engage in the expected pillars of play. They need to be capable survivalists, skilled combatants, and versatile explorers. These traits can be reinforced in the proficiencies granted to all hunters, as well as the features gained. The 1st level features are particularly important: along with any proficiencies, these features must enable a bare minimum level of engagement with the pillars of play we're looking to support.<br />
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Second, the Hunter "has to be designed to allow a lot of flexibility, giving lots of choices so that no two hunters in the same party need feel the same".<br />
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Note that these design goals might seem contradictory, since the first requires the Hunter to be oriented toward a small number of specific things, while the second design goal needs us to open up a considerable variety of options. In fact these goals are not necessarily at odds: it's possible to create a broad selection of choices within a singular theme.<br />
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To achieve both design goals, there are certain features that all Hunters must have in order to <b>be</b> Hunters within the context of the <i>Horizon Zero Dawn </i>world. These features should, in my opinion, be immediately available at first level. Any other features should not be prescriptive: they should offer the player choices, ideally between a considerable variety of options.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A screenshot from <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Hunter Features</h3>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The following are features of the Hunter. </span></h4>
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<h4>
Abilities</h4>
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I'm not going to spend much time on this as the variant rules <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> uses for abilities were discussed in detail during <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/08/5e-hacking-game-horizon-zero-dawn-part-i.html" target="_blank">Part I</a>. In summary: </div>
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<li>Assign an array of modifiers (+2, +1, +0, and -1) between Might, Finesse, Acumen, and Spirit. </li>
<li>Increase one ability of your choice by +1. </li>
<li>Assign an array of grades (A, B, C, and D) to the four abilities. The grades work in conjunction to modifiers to allow finer comparison between two creatures' relative power in any given ability: for instance, +2 (A) is weaker than +3 (D) but better than +2 (B), +2 (C), or +2 (D). </li>
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<h4>
Hit Points</h4>
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I talked about hit points in <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/08/5e-hacking-game-horizon-zero-dawn-part-i.html" target="_blank">Part I</a> too. The default method of generating hit points in <i>HZD </i>is the <a href="http://5ezd.wikidot.com/5ezd:characters:hpandstamina" target="_blank">stamina check</a>. It's a method that tends to be a little more generous, which may be beneficial in a game where immediate damage healing is somewhat less accessible.</div>
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Proficiencies</h4>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Outfits. </i><i>Horizon Zero Dawn </i>uses a system of light, medium, and heavy outfits which grant various of defensive benefits. In this hack, outfits will replace <i>D&D's </i>armour subsystem. I'll talk more about this when we start discussing equipment!<b> </b></div>
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For now I see no practical benefit to restricting outfit proficiencies, and it also doesn't reflect the video game experience to do so. All hunters can wear all kinds of outfit.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Weapons. </i>Likewise, we see Aloy wielding all kinds of weapons with apparently practiced ease in the video game, and I can't see it adding to the fun to require players to spend precious character resources to unlock access to any weapons we see from the video game. Hunters are proficient with all weapons they wield.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Tools. </i>Hunter's are proficient with the herbalism kit (to make potions) and woodcarver's tools (to help them make arrows). I chose to also allow the player's choice of one other tool as an easy means to contribute towards each hunter's individuality.</div>
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<div>
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Saving Throws. </i>Since there are four abilities in <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i>, there are also only four corresponding saving throws. Given how physical being a hunter is, it felt essential that all hunters are proficient in one of the two physical saving throws (Might or Finesse). To allow as much flexibility as possible, I've left that up to the player's choice. Similarly, the player may also choose between the two mental/social saving throws (Acumen or Spirit). </div>
<div>
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<div>
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Skills. </i>All hunters are proficient in survival, because how could they not be? Other than that, I didn't want to dictate skill choices as this is an area where players should be able to make choices that help give their hunter individuality and specialist purpose within the hunting party. As well as survival, hunters get proficiency in three skills of their choice.</div>
<div>
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<div>
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<div>
<div>
<h3>
Tribe</h3>
</div>
<div>
The world of <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i> is populated by a number of distinct tribes. The video game and its <i>Frozen Wilds</i> DLC focus on just four tribes (Nora, Carja, Oseram, and Banuk), but representatives of two additional tribes (Tenakth and Utaru) do appear in the game. For this reason I wanted to create character options for all six canonical tribes, even if it meant taking even greater creative liberties with the tribes we know less about!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i1.wp.com/escapethelevel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ilya-golitsyn-carja-hunters-ig-female-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="800" height="404" src="https://i1.wp.com/escapethelevel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ilya-golitsyn-carja-hunters-ig-female-resize.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carja concept art by Ilya Golitsyn and © Guerilla Games</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Your choice of tribe actually has a fairly minor impact on your character. This decision aligns with the principles of choice that guide the hunter's design: I didn't want a player's choice of tribe to dictate a large number of their features. A tribe typically offers one mechanical feature and one ribbon feature. It also provides recommendations for how you might want to spend your +1 floating ability score increase if you want to play a "typical" member of the tribe, but these are suggestions only.<br />
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Your tribe choice replaces a <i>D&D </i>character's Race and Background, though you'll notice you get less features. Most of the other mechanical benefits Race and Background would normally grant were absorbed into the overall Hunter package.<br />
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</div>
<h3>
Hunter's Prowess</h3>
</div>
<div>
This is the core feature of the Hunter's design, and the primary mechanism through which the design goal of choice is achieved. Essentially, every time you gain this feature you get to choose a new prowess from among a long list of options. Some of these options are derived from <i>D&D</i>'s core classes. Others are new: either derived from the video game's skill tree or conceptually suitable options created from scratch by me. The current class design grants a Hunter's Prowess choice at 1st, 3rd, 7th, 9th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 20th. As of now there are 42 options, some of which can be taken more than once. That's more than enough for all player characters to have wildly different builds, and even more might be added going forward. Meaningful variation through feature choice has definitely been achieved! If you're not already reading the hunter alongside this article, be sure to visit <a href="http://5ezd.wikidot.com/5ezd:characters:hunter" target="_blank">its wiki page</a> to check out all the different prowess choices available!<br />
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Tribal techniques and prestiges both use a similar model to hunter's prowess and are roughly equivalent to the point that they each interact with hunter's prowess in one way or another. Both are both described later in this article.<br />
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<div>
<h3>
Machine Hunter</h3>
</div>
<div>
One of several features that all hunters must possess to provide the expected game experience, this feature grants Machine Knowledge, a combination of acquired lore and practical hunting experience relating to machines. Of course it's unreasonable that less experienced hunters know much about rarer and more deadly machines, so to begin with hunters gain Machine Knowledge for specific machines only. By default, the feature unlocks new Machine Knowledge as the hunter gains levels. The aim of this design choice is simplicity. However, the feature provides for the option of ignoring the level restrictions and instead granting new Machine Knowledge after new types of machine are encountered, tracked, and fought in-game. </div>
<div>
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This feature also grants hunters the ability to craft items from machine salvage, allowing access to that portion of the crafting subsystem.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://d1z4o56rleaq4j.cloudfront.net/images/assets/Play-Horizon/_heroM/1395/Sawtooth1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://d1z4o56rleaq4j.cloudfront.net/images/assets/Play-Horizon/_heroM/1395/Sawtooth1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot from <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h3>
Survivalist</h3>
<div>
<div>
This feature is also to guarantee all hunters essential skills. In this case, it guarantees the hunter's ability to provide for their own survival, and perhaps the survival of others. Dehydration and starvation aren't issues we need to concern ourselves with in this hack: quite the opposite. Although <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i> is technically a post-apocalyptic game, its setting is lush and full of life. Food and drink aren't particularly scarce: indeed, animals like boars and turkeys are quite numerous in the wild, and waters are teeming with fish. Since all characters are hunters, it should be trivially easy for the party to keep themselves sustained.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Survivalist also provides access to another essential part of the crafting subsystem: brewing potions.</div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
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<h3>
Action Surge</h3>
<div>
At 2nd level, the hunter borrows this feature from <i>D&D</i>'s fighter. As physically capable, heroic types it makes perfect sense for hunters to be able to push themselves past their normal limits. Combined with all the possible actions a hunter might take through use of their prowess selections or simply player creativity, action surge was a no-brainer that opens the floor to limitless awesome moments in play. </div>
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<div>
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<h3>
Ability Score Increase</h3>
<div>
Like 5e's core classes, the hunter gains ability score increases, which they receive at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level. Since <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> does away with ability scores in favour of just using the modifiers, the feature is slightly simplified: you can only increase one ability by +1 (the equivalent of spending both increases on the same ability score within the core <i>D&D</i> rules).</div>
</div>
<div>
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<div>
I opted to remove any mention of feats, as I'm disinclined to include feats in the <i>Horizon Zero Dragons </i>hack. That's a discussion for another time, but bears mentioning now to explain the absence of feats within the wording of this feature. </div>
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<div>
<h3>
Tribal Techniques</h3>
<div>
To fill out the remaining class progression, I conceived the idea of tribal techniques - special features that are only available to hunters who've received the training of a particular tribe. I wanted this to be a separate feature from the level 1 tribe choice because I wanted an option for players to choose a different tribe for this set of features. This flexibility opens up less usual character backgrounds, like a Nora youth who is exiled along with their family to the lands of the Banuk, or maybe a Carja who was trained by an Oseram mercenary.</div>
<div>
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<div>
Initially I envisioned tribal techniques as being equivalent to a class archetype, but I decided that was dictating too many of the character's features. Instead, I changed tribal techniques to be similar to hunter's prowess, though limited to hunters who've received training from the right tribe. They are gained at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To begin with I've created six tribal techniques for each tribe, though may come up with more in time. Additionally, since a tribal technique is mechanically equivalent to a hunter's prowess, it seemed reasonable to allow a player to select a hunter's prowess instead if they so wish. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/46/49/90/464990a4f992614ebba0e4939e0d1766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="800" height="418" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/46/49/90/464990a4f992614ebba0e4939e0d1766.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banuk concept art by Ilya Golitsyn and © Guerilla Games</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
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<div>
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<div>
<h3>
Hunter's Excellence</h3>
<div>
Every class progression needs a capstone, but the hunter's capstone needs to be flexible so that all player characters in the game aren't just getting the same thing. I opted for a+3 worth of bonuses to be divided among the character's abilities, and one final hunter's prowess.</div>
</div>
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<h2>
Prestiges</h2>
</div>
<div>
Certain abilities gained by Aloy throughout the course of the video game are extremely rare, if not unique. In part, because there are barriers preventing most normal hunters from utilising the same abilities. Many of Aloy's powers rely on her ownership and understanding of a device known as a focus, for example.</div>
<div>
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<div>
In order to include the abilities in the game but also limit access to hunters who meet certain prerequisites, I conceived prestiges. Conceptually, these are similar to the notion of prestige classes which exists in other versions of the d20 rules. Mechanically, they're not quite the same. You don't need to take levels in a new class to gain access to prestige features. Rather, when you meet the prerequisites and join the prestige you simply gain access to its features. A prestige's core features are mechanically equivalent to a hunter's prowess, and you can simply select one instead of a standard prowess whenever you gain that feature.</div>
<div>
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<div>
As of now, I intend to add three prestiges to the game:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/5ezd:characters:focused" target="_blank">Focused Hunter</a> has access to a working focus and its capabilities.</li>
<li>The <a href="http://5ezd.wikidot.com/5ezd:characters:lodge" target="_blank">Lodge Hunter</a> (still a work in progress) has proven their skills in the hunting trials and joined the Hunting Lodge in Meridian.</li>
<li>The <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/5ezd:characters:machine" target="_blank">Machine Master</a> (still a work in progress) has gained the ability to override machines and make them temporary allies.</li>
</ul>
<div>
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<div>
<h2>
Next Time...</h2>
That'll do for now! When we visit the hack again, I'll talk about some rules changes.<br />
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<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Share your thoughts!</h2>
</div>
As always, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think about some of these changes, as well as any ideas you might have for further development of the <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> hack! Either leave a comment, or reach out on <a href="https://twitter.com/spilledale" target="_blank">twitter</a>. </div>
spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-19466198761731249172019-08-25T17:53:00.000+01:002019-09-06T20:41:08.783+01:005e: Hacking the Game, Horizon Zero Dawn Part IWay back in the mists of mid-2017 (doesn't time fly?) I began a series of articles called <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2017/06/5e-hacking-gamefallout-part-i.html" target="_blank">Hacking the Game: <i>Fallout</i></a>. Over the course of 11 posts, I outlined the process of modifying the <i>Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition </i>ruleset, from initial concepts to mechanical changes, in order to facilitate tabletop roleplaying in the setting of the <i>Fallout </i>video game franchise. That hack eventually evolved into a massive undertaking which produced a 231 page PDF and a <a href="http://5efallout.wikidot.com/" target="_blank">wiki version</a> of the rules!<br />
<br />
Today I'm starting a similar series, with another popular video game as my inspiration: <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>. But I'm doing things in a different order this time. By far the biggest single undertaking in <i>Fifth Edition Fallout</i>'s life cycle was adapting all the content in the PDF (which at the time was already something like 150 pages) to the wiki. Afterwards, I found updating the wiki to be straightforward, and the wiki to be a useful reference format, while continuing to update the PDF became more and more of a chore. Accordingly, this time I <b>started</b> with the wiki. That means there's already content available for you to see, <a href="http://5ezd.wikidot.com/" target="_blank">right now</a>! In fact, there's rather a lot of it, enough to start playing immediately. Currently, players can build hunters of one of four tribes (Banuk, Carja, Nora, and Oseram) and up to 5th level. I also have no immediate intention of creating a PDF version of the rules. If there's demand for it, I might do so as and when I can say that the hack is pretty final.<br />
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This time the articles are more of a design diary, explaining why I made various choices after the fact. Referencing content already on the wiki will also make it easier for me to produce these posts as I won't have to reproduce significant bodies of text and sizable tables.<br />
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By the way, I'm calling the hack <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> ('cause it's a <i>Dungeons & Dragons </i>hack but there's no dragons in it... you get it).<br />
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One final thing: a key principle of <i>Fifth Edition Fallout</i> was to reskin rather than rebuild. While some brand new mechanics were absolutely necessary to facilitate the <i>Fallout </i>experience, the core game experience hewed as closely as possible to the <i>Dungeons & Dragons </i>game. This time around, the changes I'm making in the <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> hack are considerably more extensive. Some are more necessary than others, but in all cases there is reasoning behind the alteration. I'll be explaining these changes and why I like them for <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> as I go.<br />
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Now, on to the content! In the first of this series I'm going to briefly describe the setting for the benefit of any reader who hasn't played the game (if you haven't and you get the chance, it comes highly recommended!). I'll then explore some key things the hack needs to factor in, before moving on to discussing Hunters, Ability Scores, and Hit Points.<br />
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<br />
<h2>
A Spoiler-Free Summary of <i>Horizon Zero Dawn </i></h2>
The world is our world, but the time is a very distant future. Somehow in the intervening years our society disappeared. The humans living in the world belong to primitive tribes. These technologically primitive peoples share their world not just with flesh and blood animals, but also beasts of metal: the machines, robots formed in the shapes similar to animals of past ages. The tribal peoples of the world hunt the machines for salvage and use robotic parts in their crafting: they don't necessarily understand the science and engineering behind their salvage, but they've learned how to apply some of that advanced technology in practical ways that create items more advanced than their society's overall level might suggest. Previously the machines were quite peaceful and hunting them wasn't particularly dangerous, but over the last several decades they have become increasingly aggressive and dangerous new machines designed for killing have appeared one after another.<br />
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You play as Aloy, who was outcast from the Nora tribe at birth for reasons her father-figure Rost is unable to explain. To find answers she undertakes the Proving, an intense ritual hunt that will grant her the title Brave and the right to rejoin the Nora tribe and get her answer. As events unfold, she is tasked with leaving the lands of the Nora and becomes embroiled in a great conspiracy.<br />
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<h2>
Key Themes and Gameplay Elements of <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i></h2>
The first thing to consider when hacking a rules system to suit a setting or genre of your choice is what the hack needs to achieve. In the case of a video game world like <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>, you're hacking for fans of the game. They'll want to insert their own characters into the world as presented by the game. This means ensuring the rules can support thematic elements of the setting and provide mechanical support to capture a feel as similar as possible to the original gameplay experience. With that in mind, here are some things that <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i> either is or includes that the hack ought to consider:<br />
<br />
<h3>
Themes</h3>
<ul>
<li><b>The Hunt!</b> In <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>, hunting increasingly larger and more deadly machines is a core feature of the gameplay loop. Furthermore, it's made pretty apparent that the world has become too dangerous for persons who don't possess survival and self-defense skills to travel far beyond their settlements. Since the core gameplay experience of both <i>Dungeons & Dragons </i>and <i>Horizon Zero Dawn </i>involves adventure and danger, that means every player character needs to have the skills of a hunter. I'm not saying that other professions don't exist in the world, and I'm also not saying player characters can't choose to have some of the competencies associated with those professions. But ultimately, characters need to have the necessary abilities that they can engage with parts of the game players are naturally going to expect when you tell them they're going to be playing in the world of <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>.</li>
<li><b>It's our future, not a fantasy.</b> This isn't a world of magic, which means no playable races other than humans, no spellcasting classes, etc. This obviously eliminates most of the base game's options in one fell swoop, leaving very few choices. Factor in the fact we want every character to be a competent hunter, and the existing class system starts looking like a pretty bad fit for this hack. </li>
<li><b>Post-apocalyptic. </b>The world is reborn anew from the ashes of an advanced society. Some ruins of that society still exist, introducing an element of exploration and mystery just perfect for a game modeled on <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> rules. Post-apocalyptic settings often have a scarcity of resources, but that's not necessarily the case here as the resources are abundant. <b>However</b>, gathering many of them requires effort and danger. In <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>, especially in the early game when you're not swimming in metal shards (the game's currency), you can often find yourself lacking the resources to craft ammo, potions, and traps you want on hand when undertaking the next quest. So you have to go hunting for them. The hack needs to recreate that loop, implementing a salvage subsystem so that many of the useful crafting items come from machines the player characters kill.</li>
<li><b>Tension between highly advanced and primitive technologies. </b>The society that once existed had access to technology well beyond even our current limits, let alone those of the tribal societies that now call the Earth home. From the point of view of these cultures the machines and the things they're capable of appear practically supernatural. Meanwhile, although the general level of human technological advancement is fairly rudimentary they have learned to adapt parts from the machines they kill. Thus, the existence of the machines rationalises the fact that the tribes have access to some pretty unusual "mad science" weapons, armour, and other items that are well beyond what would otherwise be reasonable for them to create.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Gameplay Elements</h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Damage Types.</b> Compared to <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>, <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i> has a fairly limited palette of damage types which should all be included in the game. This includes impact, laser, fire, freeze, and shock. Other damage types may reasonably exist in the world (for example, there is no thunder/sonic damage in the game, but a scenario absolutely could exist where an advanced technology caused such damage. The hack will focus on the damage types absolutely necessary, but acknowledge that other rarer damage types may exist to allow GMs the freedom to utilise them. </li>
<ul>
<li><b>Impact Damage. </b>Impact damage is caused by most weapons (and will therefore replace Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing), as well as explosions. Due to the existence of armour modifications that specifically resist only melee damage or only ranged damage, we can therefore further subdivide impact damage into three: melee impact damage, ranged impact damage, and explosive impact damage. </li>
<li><b>Tear Damage. </b>This is a special type of damage that doesn't particularly hurt a machine, but tears components off their body. Depending on the component, this might prevent the machine from using an ability, grant additional salvage, or pull a weapon from the machine that can then be used by the player! This is something that absolutely has to be included, which necessitates the creation of a whole new subsystem. </li>
<li><b>Elemental Effects. </b>In the video game, fire, freeze, and shock damage build up over time and eventually cause the target to suffer an effect such as catching on fire, being frozen, or briefly paralyzed. The <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> hack should account for these special effects on all elemental ammunition types and other sources of elemental damage.</li>
<li><i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i> also includes a damage type called Corruption, but we can exclude it because:</li>
<ul>
<li>The trail left by corrupted creatures is described as acidic, so it would be more useful to include a damage type that covers all kinds of acids, alkalis, and chemical burns. <i>Fifth Edition Fallout</i> includes a chemical damage type to cover these sources, and that seems a good fit here too.</li>
<li>Corruption arrows deal no actual damage, and the effect they cause can be classified in <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> as a condition. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li><b>The Focus. </b>Aloy finds a special device, a sort of miniaturised personal computer called a focus. Among other things, it lets her scan machines for weaknesses, detect and follow difficult trails, and find resources and tactically useful objects in the environment. Focuses are pretty rare in the world so player characters don't necessarily have to have access to them straight away (or at all), but they'll absolutely want the option! The hack needs to support them.</li>
<li><b>Outfits, <b>Weapons, and other Items</b>. </b>Outfits are the game's armour, and they often have special defensive abilities. Using the armour table from the base game won't cut it. Similarly, the hack needs a whole new ranged weapons table, reproducing the various ranged weapon types available in-game. Further, although the only melee weapon Aloy has access to is a spear, we see Carja soldiers with glaives and many other melee weapons could reasonably exist. The melee weapons table will be somewhat speculative, and somewhat slimmer than the base game. Aloy can also buy or craft various potions as well as cool traps, so the hack needs to support those as well.</li>
</ul>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
On the Taxonomy of the <i>D&D</i> Character</h2>
<div>
A <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> character is made up of several separate modules that interlock to form a larger whole which interacts with the larger rule set to determine what the character is capable of. These interlocking parts are hierarchical: the hierarchy is fairly flat, but it's there. You can't decide on any options from character modules lower in the hierarchy without first making choices higher up the hierarchy. </div>
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<div>
The modules will largely be familiar to you: ability scores, race, class, background, and so on. The whole that they make up is the <b>adventurer</b>. The hierarchy looks like this: </div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IoAdgpfOQUA/XWKXlBLzhuI/AAAAAAAANUA/0-k-ajZ8jqoYy4UfekdWU7gk22kHy2t1gCLcBGAs/s1600/AdventurerTaxonomy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="879" height="435" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IoAdgpfOQUA/XWKXlBLzhuI/AAAAAAAANUA/0-k-ajZ8jqoYy4UfekdWU7gk22kHy2t1gCLcBGAs/s640/AdventurerTaxonomy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Taxonomy of an Adventurer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h2>
A Matter of Class: or, "We're all Hunters Here"</h2>
Why is this taxonomy relevant to the <i>Horizon Zero Dragon</i>s hack? Well, as I've noted in my discussion of the key themes and gameplay elements of <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i>, many of the character modules that normally make up an adventurer should either not be available or are severely limited by the laws of the setting. This has a significant impact on the hierarchy.<br />
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Firstly, "adventurer" in <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> is a broad category describing the role of all player characters in the world they live in. It includes all manner of fantastical archetypes with powers strong enough to survive adventures full of monsters and magic. Whereas, anyone daring enough to be an "adventurer" in the world of <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i> has to be a human (as only humans exist), has to be able to avoid machines where possible and have a chance of surviving battle with them when stealth fails, and has to be self-sufficient in the wilderness. Therefore, in <i>Horizon Zero Dawn</i> "adventurer" is synonymous with "hunter". Thus, "Hunter" replaces "Adventurer" at the top of the hierarchy of player character modules.<br />
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But "Hunter" could also be said to be a character's class, right? Conceptually, it's about the same as a "Ranger", say. We could have different classes exist below "Hunter" in the hierarchy, as different types of hunter. But how many classes could we include? We already know we can't use most of the classes that exist in the base game. Not even the ranger is quite right, owing to its use of divine magic. Practically speaking we're left with the barbarian, the fighter, and the rogue, and only a handful of viable archetypes for each. None of them feel quite right. Furthermore, allowing players to choose from only these three classes doesn't provide enough choices to ensure significant variation between all player characters in a game.<br />
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Instead, I opted to run with that first instinct: Hunter is every character's "class", <b>as well as</b> their role within the world. Accordingly, it has to be designed to allow a lot of flexibility, giving lots of choices so that no two hunters in the same party need feel the same!<br />
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As a consequence of this, <b>all</b> other decisions you make about your player character become subordinate to being a hunter. Decisions like your tribe (which is somewhat equivalent to the <i>D&D </i>adventurer's race) become decisions you make while undertaking the process of what <i>D&D</i> would term your class. It's as though you started making a Fighter and one of your first level class features asked you if you wanted to be a Dwarf Fighter, an Elf Fighter, or so on.<br />
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The hierarchy of the Hunter looks like this:<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MVTwfaQ53RM/XWKXmdGD-xI/AAAAAAAANUE/d0wTWPM43aoYc8jbBcNYZ1CoXB7fMRXyACLcBGAs/s1600/HunterTaxonomyjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="552" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MVTwfaQ53RM/XWKXmdGD-xI/AAAAAAAANUE/d0wTWPM43aoYc8jbBcNYZ1CoXB7fMRXyACLcBGAs/s400/HunterTaxonomyjpg.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Taxonomy of a Hunter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As you can see, it's significantly less complex. Though it may seem a little odd at first, incorporating the various player character modules into the same write-up as the Hunter's "class" features effectively streamlines the character creation process. You don't have to go look at multiple chapters, or more than one wiki page: everything you need to do is all in one place.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
From the point of view of a designer, having only one "class" has another benefit: while I still refer to D&D's classes for benchmarking, I don't have to worry about balancing multiple classes against each other. It doesn't matter if the Hunter ends up overpowered compared to core classes since it's not intended to interact with classes that don't exist in <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i>: the only thing that matters is the players end up having a fun and sometimes challenging experience.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Backgrounds are a Thing of the Past</h2>
You'll notice that backgrounds have been removed from the hierarchy entirely. This is because I deemed backgrounds an unnecessary part of a <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> character. We already know exactly what the character's background looks like: we have their choice of tribe, and the fact that they've been trained from a young age to become a hunter.<br />
<br />
Note that the mechanical benefits provided by the base game's background features are still part of the character in some form or another, absorbed into the Hunter's features.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Ability Scores </h2>
The six<i> D&D </i>ability scores have frequently been the subject of intense debate among my circle. It's undeniable that some of the six are more useful than others, except in the case of specific classes that are designed around "weaker" scores. It's also possible to make any number of fairly sound arguments about why a certain aspect of the rules might be equally or better handled by a different ability than the one it's currently assigned to. Further, there's some conceptual overlap between the mental and social abilities. These factors combined lead me to the belief that six abilities may be too many, and the responsibilities of those six scores might be better if divided among fewer abilities. Four, say. That would help ensure that every ability score is fairly important to any character, and reduce if not eliminate confusions about which ability is really best suited to a given task.<br />
<br />
Especially in <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i>, in which magic doesn't exist and social functions may be considered a secondary concern for many hunters, I feel it's disadvantageous to use the current model which dilutes the cerebral and social ability functions between three scores. We want the ability options available to players to be as tempting as we can make them in comparison to physical abilities. Reducing down the number of abilities is one way to achieve that. Making sure there are ways to use all abilities in varied situations, such as combat, is another. However, the first method can help with the second: from a design perspective, ensuring that the mental and social abilities are used in varied ways becomes easier if there are less of them to consider.<br />
<br />
After due consideration, I decided on the following four <a href="http://5ezd.wikidot.com/5ezd:characters:abilityscores" target="_blank">ability scores</a>: Might (essentially absorbing Constitution into Strength), Finesse (Dexterity), Acumen (combining Intelligence with portions of Wisdom and Charisma), and Spirit (combining the rest of Wisdom and Charisma's functions).<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Final Score: Modifiers +1, Scores 0.</h3>
It might not have escaped your notice that ability scores in <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> are practically pointless. They're essentially vestigial things, there now only because they always have been. What's important in the current edition of the game is your modifier. About the only time you'll refer to your score is in the context of either a tie-break situation, such as when you want to quickly assess which of two characters with the same modifier is slightly better than the other and make a declaration without rolling. I don't deny this is sometimes useful, but in those situations there's only a 50-50 chance that the comparison will be useful. The other 50% of the time, both characters have the same score.<br />
<br />
So why keep ability scores? Other versions of d20 before this have successfully abandoned them (True20, for instance). For <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i>, I've chosen to follow in their footsteps.<br />
<br />
Making this change does mean that current methods of generating ability scores don't work any more. I plumped for the simplest alternative method: assigning an array, which is +2, +1, 0, and -1.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Grades</h3>
As I mentioned, however, the option to compare abilities for quick tie-breaks can sometimes be useful, though it's hit and miss in its current form. I think we can add it back in but do it better. What if an ability modifier was further broken into four bands?<br />
<br />
If you've received education in a system that uses letter grades, you'll be familiar with the method I chose: As well as having a modifier, each of a character's abilities is assigned a letter grade out of the following options: A (the best), B, C, and D (the worst). The letter grade helps us decide which of two characters with the exact same modifier has the advantage over the other. To illustrate, imagine that each character that possesses Might +1 took a practical exam to measure exactly how much might they have compared to other characters at their level. Although they all have nearly the same Might for most practical purposes, under rigorous testing conditions it can be shown that some in the exam are just a little bit more mighty than others. The top 25% are given an A grade, the next 25% are given a B grade, and so on. These small differences may not matter in the context of battle, such as hit point damage; they could, however, be a deciding factor in a direct contest of strength like an arm wrestle. Particularly when said contest isn't significant to the story and you might want to avoid bothering with a roll. When we want to make such comparisons, four variations of each bonus is much better than two: That's 75% odds that two characters will have different values when we need to compare them!<br />
<br />
Four grades pairs really nicely with four abilities, as it gives us a very elegant solution for determining a character's grades: you get one of each and you choose how they're arranged among your four abilities. Alternatively, they could be randomly assigned by groups who like some randomness in their character creation.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Hit Points and Stamina Checks</h2>
A little while back I posted a <a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/01/5e-hit-point-check.html" target="_blank">variant method of rolling hit points</a> which replaces Hit Dice with a Constitution ability check. I really like this as a default for <i>Horizon Zero Dragon</i>s. (substituting Might for Constitution, obviously). Here's why:<br />
<br />
Firstly, and definitely primarily, characters in <i>Horizon Zero Dragons </i>are going to have access to less healing than <i>Dungeons & Dragons </i>characters typically have. Sure, they can buy or craft healing potions, but they don't have access to convenient curative spellcasting. Additionally, any serious injuries or other consequences of lost hit points (death, for instance!) are a lot more permanent: without magic, there's no way of undoing such outcomes. Therefore, it makes sense to give hunters an extra buffer, making them tougher in the first place. The stamina check variant generally results in a character getting more hit points than they would otherwise have received using Hit Dice.<br />
<br />
Secondly, although Constitution is often less useful than Strength, combining the two into Might creates something of a power stat. A consequence of the stamina check variant is that Constitution, or in this case Might, has less of an impact on your hit points: 0.5 per +1, instead of 1 per +1. The impact is nowhere near enough to change the fact that Might is a great choice for a hunter, but it does decrease the comparative value of Might, if only by a little bit. And as they say, "every little helps".<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Next Time...</h2>
That's it for this installment! Next time, I'm going to explore some more Hunter features, including Proficiencies, Tribes, and more. </div>
<div>
<h3>
<b style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://spilledale.blogspot.com/2019/09/5e-hacking-game-horizon-zero-dawn-1.html" target="_blank">Read Part II of this series</a>!</b></h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Share your thoughts!</h2>
Thanks for following along this far. Let me know what you think about some of these changes, as well as any ideas you might have for further development of the <i>Horizon Zero Dragons</i> hack! Either leave a comment, or reach out on <a href="https://twitter.com/spilledale" target="_blank">twitter</a>.</div>
<br />
<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-86206526035357748532019-08-16T17:29:00.002+01:002019-08-16T17:29:55.599+01:005e: Want to play D&D 5e with me? Sign up for the Ramshackle 1-Shots!I intend to run a series of 1-shot games set in my upcoming nautical city setting, Ramshackle. In part this is to introduce the city to more people, in part to playtest some of the player content (like archetypes) going into the product!<br />
<br />
If you'd be interested in taking part, please fill in the doodle <a href="https://doodle.com/poll/dqw966xfh7h9s2k3" target="_blank">which you can find here</a>!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EdCFi6SJjGs/XVbZc6xe6OI/AAAAAAAANTY/6BF_tzQzewgUlX6PjtLMOL85MvIwMdH4QCLcBGAs/s1600/Ramshackle_Mock_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="1436" height="395" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EdCFi6SJjGs/XVbZc6xe6OI/AAAAAAAANTY/6BF_tzQzewgUlX6PjtLMOL85MvIwMdH4QCLcBGAs/s640/Ramshackle_Mock_Cover.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mock cover for the <i>Ramshackle</i> city-setting! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-35307811805400591412019-06-11T16:40:00.001+01:002019-06-11T22:34:47.001+01:005e: Seven Far Realm Spells Today I'm presenting a set of new spells! Like last time's <a href="http://spilledale.blogspot.com/2018/04/5e-six-fire-themed-spells.html" target="_blank">fire spells</a>, this group share a theme: they're all designed to capture the alien horror of aberrations and the Far Realm. They're therefore perfect for spellcasting monsters of the aberration type, eldritch cultists, and Great Old One pact warlocks!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1254" height="500" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JSk_UdhiKWI/XP7S2opU28I/AAAAAAAANJ0/7TaeDsyKZ0wM0RX_MPwxmaA1oqr1Bae4wCLcBGAs/s320/Final-Otyugh-C.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stock Art © Gary Dupuis.</td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The spells described below belong on the following class spell lists:
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" class="tg"><caption><h2>
Class Spell Lists</h2>
</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th class="tg-66l1">Bard</th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Cleric</th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Druid</th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Paladin</th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Ranger</th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Sorcerer</th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Warlock</th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Wizard</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2" colspan="8"><div align="center">
<h3>
Cantrips</h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Alien Terror</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Alien Terror</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2" colspan="8"><div align="center">
<h3>
2<sup>nd</sup>-Level</h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Void Warp</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Void Leech</em>,<em> </em><em>Void Warp</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2" colspan="8"><div align="center">
<h3>
3<sup>rd</sup>-Level</h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Call Lesser Horrors</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Call Lesser Horrors</em></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2" colspan="8"><div align="center">
<h3>
4<sup>th</sup>-Level</h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Call Greater Horror</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Call Greater Horror</em></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2" colspan="8"><div align="center">
<h3>
6<sup>th</sup>-Level</h3>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Madness Spiral</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
―</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Madness Spiral</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Aberrant Parasite</em>,<em> </em><em>Madness Spiral</em></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
<em>Madness Spiral</em></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="spell-stats">
<h2>
Aberrant Parasite</h2>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<i><b>6th-level conjuration</b></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> | <b>Classes:</b> <i>Warlock</i></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Casting Time:</b> 1 action</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Range:</b> 60 feet</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Components:</b> V, S, M (flesh from a tsochar tentacle valued at 500 gold pieces)</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Duration:</b> 13 rounds</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
Select one target within range which must not be a construct or ooze. A writhing alien worm appears in the target's belly. The target must immediately make a Constitution saving throw, forcing themselves to retch out the worm on a success. On a failed save, The target is poisoned for its next three turns as the worm grows rapidly within, and may spend its action on each of those turns to grant itself another saving throw.<br />
<br />
If the worm is still in the target's body at the end of the third turn it fuses with the target's nervous system. The target becomes charmed by you and recognises your allies as its allies. It continues to be charmed for 1 minute, until you fall unconscious, or until there is a distance between you greater than the spell's range (60 feet).</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
While the creature is charmed, you have a telepathic link with it. You can use this telepathic link to issue commands to the creature while you are conscious (no action required), which it does its best to obey. You can specify a simple and general course of action, such as "Attack that creature," "Run over there," or "Fetch that object." If the creature completes the order and doesn't receive further direction from you, it defends and preserves itself to the best of its ability.</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
You can use your action to take total and precise control of the target. Until the end of your next turn, the creature takes only the actions you choose, and doesn't do anything that you don't allow it to do. During this time, you can also cause the creature to use a reaction, but this requires you to use your own reaction as well.</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
When this spell ends, the worm dissolves into goo which the target immediately vomits out. This costs them their reaction, if they haven't already used one since their most recent turn. </div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
Each time the target takes damage, it makes a new Constitution saving throw against the spell. If the saving throw succeeds, the spell ends. If you or creatures that are friendly to you are fighting it, it has advantage on the saving throw.</div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="spell-stats">
<h2>
Alien Terror</h2>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<i><b>Divination cantrip</b></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> | <b>Classes:</b> <i>Sorcerer</i>,<i> Warlock</i></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Casting Time:</b> 1 action</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Range:</b> 60 feet</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Components:</b> V, S</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<b>Duration:</b> Instantaneous</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
You utter a few words in Deep Speech, briefly exposing the mind of a creature you can see within range to horrifying visions of the Far Realm. </div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage and loses its reaction if it hasn't already spent it this round. </div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">
This spell's damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4).</div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="spell-stats">
<h2>
Call Greater Horror</h2>
<b><i>4<sup>th</sup>-level conjuration</i></b> | <b>Classes:</b> <i>Warlock</i>, <i>Wizard</i><br />
<br />
<b>Casting Time:</b> 1 action<br />
<b>Range:</b> 60 feet<br />
<b>Components:</b> V, S, M (the brain of a humanoid killed within the last 24 hours, a vial of black sand laced with crushed meteorite)<br />
<b>Duration:</b> 1 hour (concentration)<br />
<br />
You utter words in Deep Speech, tearing open the walls of reality to summon forth an aberration from the Far Realm. You choose the aberrations’s type, which must be one of challenge rating 5 or lower, such as a chuul or otyugh. The aberration appears in an unoccupied space you can see within range, and the aberration disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.<br />
<br />
Roll initiative for the aberration, which has its own turns. When you summon it and on each of your turns thereafter, you can issue a verbal command to it (requiring no action on your part), telling it what it must do on its next turn. If you issue no command, it spends its turn attacking any creature within reach that has attacked it.<br />
<br />
At the end of each of the aberration’s turns, it makes a Charisma saving throw. The aberration has disadvantage on this saving throw if you say its true name. On a failed save, the aberration continues to obey you. On a successful save, your control of the aberrations ends for the rest of the duration, and the aberration spends its turns pursuing and attacking the nearest non-aberrations to the best of its ability. If you stop concentrating on the spell before it reaches its full duration, an uncontrolled aberration doesn’t disappear for 1d6 rounds if it still has hit points.<br />
<br />
As part of casting the spell, you can form a circle on the ground with the black sand used as a material component. The circle is large enough to encompass your space. While the spell lasts, the summoned aberration can’t cross the circle or harm it, and it can’t target anyone within it. Using the material component in this manner consumes it when the spell ends.<br />
<br />
<b><i>At Higher Levels.</i></b> When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the challenge rating increases by 1 for each slot level above 4th.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="spell-stats">
<h2>
Call Lesser Horrors</h2>
<b><i>3<sup>rd</sup>-level conjuration</i></b> | <b>Classes:</b> <i>Warlock</i>, <i>Wizard</i><br />
<br />
<b>Casting Time:</b> 1 action<br />
<b>Range:</b> 60 feet<br />
<b>Components:</b> V, S, M (the brain of a humanoid killed within the last 24 hours, a vial of black sand)<br />
<b>Duration:</b> 1 hour (concentration)<br />
<br />
You utter words in Deep Speech, tearing open the walls of reality to summon forth aberrations from the Far Realm. Roll on the following table to determine what appears.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: -webkit-center;">
Horrors Called</h2>
<table align="center" class="tg"><tbody>
<tr><th class="tg-66l1">d6</th><th class="tg-66l1">Aberrations Summoned</th></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-gwd2">1-2</td><td class="tg-gwd2">Two aberrations of challenge rating 1 or lower.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-cvhz">3-4</td><td class="tg-cvhz">Four aberrations of challenge rating 1/2 or lower.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-gwd2">5-6</td><td class="tg-gwd2">Eight aberrations of challenge rating 1/4 or lower.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The DM chooses the aberrations, such as slaad taadpoles or starspawn grues, and you choose the unoccupied spaces you can see within range where they appear. A summoned aberration disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.<br />
<br />
The aberrations are hostile to all creatures, including you. Roll initiative for the summoned aberrations as a group, which has its own turns. The aberrations pursue and attack the nearest non-aberrationss to the best of their ability.<br />
<br />
As part of casting the spell, you can form a circle on the ground with the black sand used as a material component. The circle is large enough to encompass your space. While the spell lasts, the summoned aberrations can’t cross the circle or harm it, and they can’t target anyone within it. Using the material component in this manner consumes it when the spell ends.<br />
<br />
<b><i>At Higher Levels.</i></b> When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th or 7th level, you summon twice as many aberrations. If you cast it using a spell slot of 8th or 9th level, you summon three times as many aberrations.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="spell-stats">
<h2>
Madness Spiral</h2>
<b><i>6<sup>th</sup>-level enchantment</i></b> | <b>Classes:</b> <i>Bard</i>, <i>Sorcerer</i>, <i>Warlock</i>, <i>Wizard</i>
<br />
<br />
<b>Casting Time:</b> 1 action<br />
<b>Range:</b> 60 ft.<br />
<b>Components:</b> V, S, M (a shard of stained glass)<br />
<b>Duration:</b> 1 minute (concentration)<br />
<br />
<br />
This spell creates a whirl of kaleidoscopic energy in a 15-foot radius sphere centered on a point within range. When a creature other than yourself enters the spell's area for the first time on its turn or starts its turn there, it must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, a target rolls a d8 to gain a randomly determined madness from the following table, which lasts for the duration of the spell.
<br />
<table align="center" class="tg"><caption><h2>
<i>Madness Spiral</i> Random Madness</h2>
</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th class="tg-66l1"> d4 </th>
<th class="tg-66l1">Madness</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
1</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
The target screams, laughs, or weeps uncontrollably. The creature is restrained and incapacitated</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
2-3</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
The target's mind wanders, hardly present, and they find it difficult to remember and apply the things they used to know. The target is incapacitated. On their turn, the creature may attempt an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC to try to briefly focus their mind. On a successful save, they can take an action (but not a bonus action) this turn. On a failed save, they may move this turn but can't do anything else. </div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
4-5</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
The creature is filled with undirected rage. It must use its action each round to make a melee attack, ranged attack, or cast a damaging cantrip against the nearest creature. If multiple creatures are the same distance away, determine the target randomly. It may only move if that movement brings it closer to the creature it is currently attacking, or if there are no creatures it can currently attack, in which case the creature uses as much of its movement as necessary to be able to attack the nearest creature it can see. </div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
6-8</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
The target is frightened of every creature it can see. If that means it can't move in any direction on any given turn it remains in its current space.</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
At the end of each of its turns, as well as at the end of any turn on which it took damage, an affected target can make a Wisdom saving throw. If it succeeds, this effect ends for that target.
<br />
<br />
<i><b>At Higher Levels.</b> </i>When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the radius of the sphere increases by 5 feet for each slot level above 6th.
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="spell-stats">
<h2>
Void Leech</h2>
<b><i>2<sup>nd</sup>-level conjuration</i></b> | <b>Classes:</b> <i>Warlock</i><br />
<br />
<b>Casting Time:</b> 1 action<br />
<b>Range:</b> 60 feet<br />
<b>Components:</b> V, S, M (a jar of living leeches)<br />
<b>Duration:</b> Instantaneous<br />
<br />
A spatial rift opens in an unoccupied space adjacent to you and an alien tentacle emerges from within and connects with your chest. Another identical rift opens in an unoccupied space within range, and a second tentacle appears from the rift to attack one creature within 10 feet. Make a melee spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes cold damage equal to 1d6 + your spellcasting modifier, and you regain hit points equal to the damage you dealt. The tentacles then withdraw into their rifts, which disappear.<br />
<br />
<b><i>At Higher Levels.</i></b> When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you create an additional tentacle for every two slot levels above 2nd. The tentacles must attack different targets, which must be within range of you but need not be in range of each other.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="spell-stats">
<h2>
Void Warp</h2>
<b><i>2<sup>nd</sup>-level conjuration</i></b> | <b>Classes:</b> <i>Sorcerer, Warlock</i><br />
<br />
<b>Casting Time:</b> 1 action<br />
<b>Range:</b> 300 feet<br />
<b>Components:</b> V<br />
<b>Duration:</b> Instantaneous<br />
<br />
You are swallowed up by inky blackness, only to reappear instantaneously at any other spot within range. You have no clear recollection of where you went or what happened there, only remembering that it was a nightmarish place, hostile to humanoid life.<br />
<br />
You arrive at exactly the spot desired. It can be a place you can see, one you can visualize, or one you can describe by stating distance and direction, such as "200 feet straight downward" or "upward to the northwest at a 45- degree angle, 300 feet."<br />
<br />
You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn't exceed what you can carry. You can also bring one willing creature of your size or smaller who is carrying gear up to its carrying capacity. The creature must be within 5 feet of you when you cast this spell.<br />
<br />
You and any creature you take with you take cold and psychic damage, the amount of which depends on the distance you try to travel, as shown in the table below.<br />
<br />
If you would arrive in a place already occupied by an object or a creature, you are rejected by the void and the spell fails to teleport you. You still take cold and psychic damage according to the intended distance of the teleport.<br />
<table align="center" class="tg"><caption><h2>
<i>Void Warp</i> Damage</h2>
</caption><tbody>
<tr><th class="tg-66l1">Distance (ft.)</th><th class="tg-66l1">Damage</th></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
1-100</div>
</td><td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
1d4 cold and 1d4 psychic damage</div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
101-200</div>
</td><td class="tg-cvhz"><div align="center">
2d4 cold and 2d4 psychic damage</div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
201-300</div>
</td><td class="tg-gwd2"><div align="center">
3d4 cold and 3d4 psychic damage
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618265375404435381.post-91898351067795911532019-06-07T14:28:00.001+01:002019-11-08T22:21:17.831+00:005e: Ghosts of Saltmarsh - a Breakdown and Review.Today I'll be reviewing the recently released campaign book, <i>Ghosts of Saltmarsh</i>. This review is intended for DMs, who are the product's intended audience (there is only a very little amount of player content). As part of the review, I'll break down the contents of the book, summarise the adventures and other content within, and highlight any issues I might perceive in the content.<br />
<br />
In short: <b>this review is not spoiler free</b>. If you are intending to play in any adventures from this book, or you think you might watch a video stream or listen to a podcasts of other people playing, don't read this review in full. Instead, here's a very brief summary for you to take away:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>This is a really good supplement full of fun adventures set on or near the water. </li>
<li>It contains supplemental rules your DM is bound to find useful while running these adventurers or if your homebrew campaign ever goes near the sea. </li>
<li>Likewise, the adventures include a decent collection of new monsters that will add value to your DM whatever their campaign.</li>
<li>As you'd probably expect, there is very little content aimed at players. There are four new backgrounds, but you'd be better off talking to your DM about the new options available than purchasing the supplement yourself. </li>
<li>I recommend this product: I think your DM will get a lot of value out of the content and should enjoy running the adventurers within for you. Likewise, you should enjoy playing them! </li>
<li>Point your DM in the direction of this review if they'd like further details!</li>
</ul>
<br />
From this point on, the review begins in earnest. <b>Time to turn back if you don't want spoilers!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
What is <i>Ghosts of Saltmarsh</i>?</h3>
<em>Ghosts of Saltmarsh</em> is the latest set of published adventures by Wizards of the Coast. This is an interesting product, because it falls somewhere in the middle of previous adventure books in terms of its presentation and purpose. Like <em>Tales from the Yawning Portal</em>, it collects and updates a set of unrelated classic adventures and a DM can cherry pick from among them. Yet like <em>Tyranny of Dragons</em>, <em>Princes of the Apocalypse</em>, et al., <em>Ghosts of Saltmarsh</em> can also be a single cohesive campaign. Three of the converted adventures were already a trilogy, and the additional adventures can be slotted in among them to flesh out the character's adventures in and around Saltmarsh.<br />
<br />
Here's what Wizards of the Coast have to say about what this product offers:<br />
<br />
<div class="speech-bubble-them">
<div class="speech-bubble-me-text">
<i>Ghosts of Saltmarsh brings classic adventures into fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. This adventure book combines some of the most popular classic adventures from the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons including the classic "U" series, plus some of the best nautical adventures from the history of Dungeon Magazine: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, Danger at Dunwater, Salvage Operation, Isle of the Abbey, The Final Enemy, Tammeraut's Fate, The Styes.</i><br />
<ul>
<li><i>Ghosts of Salt Marsh includes a variety of seafaring adventures, enough to take characters from level 1 to level 12.</i></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><i>This supplement introduces the port town of Saltmarsh, the perfect starting point for a nautical campaign.</i></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><i>Each adventure can be played individually, inserted into your ongoing game or combined into a single epic nautical campaign.</i></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><i>Dungeon Masters will find rules for ships and sea travel, deck plans for various vessels, an appendix with rules for new and classic monsters, and much more.</i></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Production Values</h3>
<em>Ghosts of Saltmarsh</em> (hereafter referred to as <em>GoS</em>) runs to 256 pages, which is the typical length of a Fifth Edition product by Wizards of the Coast. It has a recommended retail price of $49.95 in the US, and £38.99 in the UK. As with other official titles, two covers exist: the limited edition cover (available for pre-orders and limited quantities in local game stores) and the regular cover.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ghosts of Saltmarsh Standard Cover" border="0" height="" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mafovOEa9ss/XOpKlp6O2xI/AAAAAAAANFQ/VgvUiA6cdh8Flx75ldhMyCTa-h97Tgg-gCLcBGAs/s1600/Saltmarsh.jpg" title="Ghosts of Saltmarsh Standard Cover" width="300" /></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ghosts of Saltmarsh Alternate Cover" border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xn-YHjp4npE/XOpKl3gsFWI/AAAAAAAANFU/8tZaQOrRqQU2_BR4F7IQjlDFpVCX01f6ACLcBGAs/s1600/Saltmarsh_Alt.jpg" title="Ghosts of Saltmarsh Alternate Cover" width="300" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><em>The </em>Ghosts of Saltmarsh<em> Cover (left) and Limited Edition Cover (right)</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Honestly, I think the standard cover is more attractive and the alternate cover looks too dark. Based on comments I've seen by other reviewers, <a href="https://twitter.com/DropTheDie/status/1131387432002134016" target="_blank">it appears that the actual print of the cover looks flatter and duller</a>, too.
<br />
<br />
Naturally, <em>GoS</em> is also available on <a href="https://www.dndbeyond.com/marketplace/source/ghosts-of-saltmarsh" target="_blank">DnDBeyond</a>, with the usual variety of purchase options: all content, compendium content only, and cherry-picking individual content. It's also a content pack for <a href="https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/3850/ghosts-of-saltmarsh" target="_blank">Roll20</a>. I have the DnDBeyond version of the content, which means I can't comment on the physical quality of the book or its interior design, but if you already own official fifth edition products in hardback you should already know what kind of quality to expect.<br />
<br />
I've noticed a meager handful of editorial errors in the form of minor typos. It's hard to know if they're actually in the book, or whether they've slipped in during the transfer of content to DnDBeyond.<br />
<br />
You'll either love or hate the maps in <i>GoS</i>. The map of Saltmarsh is full colour, but the majority (including the hex map of the region) continue the trend of recent Waterdeep products to return to a more old school line art style. The maps look as though they were taken straight out of a 2nd edition module and given that many of the adventures in the book are converted from older editions, this approach lends the product an additional feel of nostalgia.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Cellar" border="0" height="" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pXMUM6DgHQ8/XPplJXwFNwI/AAAAAAAANJY/GkAli2kC4sUOrNSWiVlq52Kf1i0m8rERQCLcBGAs/s400/04-dm%255B1%255D.png" title="The Cellar" width="600" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><em>The Cellar</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Content</h3>
<i>GoS</i> includes an introduction, 8 chapters, and 3 appendices, which are broken down as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Introduction</h4>
The book's introduction provides a brief summary the content of the book and how to use it. It hints that some of the adventures in the book might make ideal side quests for campaign set in a port town (eg. <i>Waterdeep: Dragon Heist</i>/<i>Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage</i>), and can also be interspersed with the adventures from <i>Tales from the Yawning Portal</i> to build out a larger campaign.<br />
<br />
We also learn that the official setting for Ghosts of Saltmarsh is within the region of Keoland in the <i>Greyhawk</i> campaign setting, <b>not in the Forgotten Realms</b>. While it's not the first time Fifth Edition has used a campaign book has a gateway into another world (that would be <i>Curse of Strahd</i>, which acts as a gateway to the larger <i>Ravenloft</i> setting), this is still a huge deal. A vocal subset of fans have been asking for the return of Greyhawk for a while now. This may or may not be a sign of more official Greyhawk to come. On balance, I think probably not, though that certainly depends on how well the product does and how much demand for more there seems to be. However, it is almost certainly a sign that Greyhawk is about to be added to the list of supported settings on the DMsGuild, which would enable fans to update Greyhawk themselves.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Chapter 1: Saltmarsh</h4>
This chapter is dedicated to describing both the town of Saltmarsh and the region around it. It's further broken down into the following sections: a brief introduction to the town, followed by Politics and Factions, Saltmarsh Overview, Downtime Activities, Saltmarsh Region, Adventures in Saltmarsh, and Saltmarsh Backgrounds.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Politics and Factions</i></b> is where we learn about the Traditionalists and the Loyalists, as well as secret interference in the town by a third faction I won't name here. It's also where the major NPCs of the town are described. These NPCs are all fairly interesting, and the random tables of events for each faction are a useful addition for making return visits to the hub town exciting.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Saltmarsh Overview</i></b> describes the town's approach to law enforcement and defense, its commerce (in the form of fishing, trading, smuggling, and mining), the town's locations, and available downtime activities. Interspersed throughout the locations are plenty of adventure hooks: for instance, the docks have their own section which includes a random table of rumours that might be overheard there. There are also several tables for generating jobs that various NPCs might want help with. There's even a section dealing with how to determine the mood of the town on any given visit, depending on whether the town's fishing industry is doing well!<br />
<br />
The region around Saltmarsh is described, and is fully laden with adventure hooks which you can use to expand your <i>GoS</i> campaign beyond the adventures already fleshed out in subsequent chapters. Included is a list of shipwrecks that characters might try to find for their lost treasures, and tables for random encounters. The table for encounters at sea includes four pirate ships! Their colourful crews are described immediately after the table.<br />
<br />
The Adventures in Saltmarsh section is very useful. It begins with suggestions for how the DM can tie the standalone adventures in the book together into a cohesive campaign. Following this, it provides recommendations for where within the region of Saltmarsh you could drop in adventures from <i>Tales of the Yawning Portal</i>! This latter advice is honestly one of my favourite parts of the book: in a few brief paragraphs, it massively increases the play potential of a campaign set in and around Saltmarsh for anyone who also owns <i>TotYP</i>.<br />
<br />
Finally, Saltmarsh Backgrounds provides four new background options (Fisher, Marine, Shipwright, and Smuggler) which are useful additions for GoS specifically but also great new options for any character in any campaign. The section also provides ways for characters of old and new backgrounds alike to be tied to Saltmarsh - these are tools intended for characters who are local to the region.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Chapter 2: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</h4>
The first adventure in the book happens to be the first adventure of a classic trilogy which also includes <i>Chapter 3</i>: <i>Danger at Dunwater</i> and <i>Chapter 6: The Final Enemy</i>. These three adventures introduced Saltmarsh to Greyhawk and together form the backbone for the book's optional campaign arc.<br />
<br />
<i>The</i> <i>Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</i> feels like two short adventures, rather than one: it's divided into two parts, <i>The Haunted House </i>and <i>The Sea Ghost. </i>Completing both parts is expected to take 4-6 characters from 1st to 3rd level.<br />
<br />
During <i>The Haunted House </i>the adventures investigate the abandoned cliffside abode of a long dead alchemist, which seems to be haunted. They discover the so-called haunting is actually trickery on the part of a band of smugglers who are using the house and the sea cave beneath it as a base of operations.<br />
<br />
In <i>The Sea Ghost</i>, the adventurers have the opportunity to use coded signals learned during <i>The Haunted House</i> to trick the crew of a smuggling ship into believing things are still fine, then apprehend them. On the <i>Sea Ghost</i>, the adventurers also meet a party of lizardfolk, and find other clues that suggest busting the smuggling ring isn't the end of Saltmarsh's problems.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Boarding the Sea Ghost" border="0" height="" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zwT4zvQfAxQ/XPphwtA8ByI/AAAAAAAANIw/FNM4SUxxowk6KDX7vuho1ppo2LFYULjnQCLcBGAs/s400/02-07%255B1%255D.png" title="Boarding the Sea Ghost" width="600" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><em>Boarding the</em> Sea Ghost</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
A sidebar provides recommendations for where a DM might place the adventure if they choose to use it in one of three other settings. Naturally these include the <i>Forgotten Realms</i> and <i>Eberron</i>. The third setting Wizards have chosen to provide conversion notes for came as a complete surprise to me: <i>Mystara</i>, another classic setting from the second edition era. They're certainly going out of their way with this product to cater for nostalgic fans hungry for settings which previously had no support. Note that a similar sidebar gives localisation guidance for each adventure in this book. I'm mentioning that now so I don't keep repeating myself in my summaries of the following chapters, though I won't mention it again in my descriptions of the following chapters.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that if you're playing in a world other than Greyhawk and you intend to run the book as a campaign rather than pick stand-alone adventures from it, you might find it difficult to include some adventures in your campaign. This is because the guidance for placing the adventures relies on suitable geography that exists in the world. For example, the book recommends placing Saltmarsh (the setting of <i>The</i> <i>Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</i> and its two sequels) on the Sword Coast between Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep, but suggests <i>Tammeraut's Fate </i>be set off the coast of Cormyr. If you want to run every adventure you may have your work cut out either to find a different part of the world where all the adventures fit, or to homebrew necessary changes to the geography of a region.<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Chapter 3: Danger at Dunwater</h4>
<i>Danger at Dunwater</i> is the second adventure in the through line trilogy that started with <i>The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</i>. It was an oddity in its time and is still a bit of an oddity now: if played smart the adventure requires absolutely no combat. The adventure is for 4-6 3rd level characters, but depending on their current XP the awards they gain may not level them, in which case you'll want to run a shot side trek after this chapter to get them ready for chapter 4.<br />
<br />
In the events of the previous adventure, it was discovered that the smugglers were supplying weapons to a tribe of lizardfolk living in a colony near Saltmarsh. Fearing an attack, the town's leaders send the adventurers to investigate.<br />
<br />
After coming upon the lizardfolk tribe's caves, the adventurers can learn that the lizardfolk mean no harm at all to Saltmarsh<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">—</span>provided the adventurers use their words and not their weapons. If they do come in hot, there are opportunities to redeem the situation if they haven't done anything the lizardfolk can't forgive.<br />
<br />
It turns out that the lizardfolk were driven out of their previous home by a growing horde of sahuagin who represent a threat to all races undersea and along the coast of the region. When the characters arrive, diplomats from several groups of aquatic races are present for negotiations to join an alliance against the sahuagin. The lizardfolk have been purchasing weapons from the smugglers to arm themselves for their planned counterattack.<br />
<br />
The sahuagin are indeed a threat to Saltmarsh and it would be in the town's interest to help, but the lizardfolk hadn't previously considered them a useful ally against a primarily underwater foe. But if the adventurers favourably impress the lizardfolk and the visiting diplomats of other races, then they may be able to forge ties between the alliance and the town of Saltmarsh.<br />
<br />
Whether Saltmarsh is invited to join the alliance depends on the player's actions throughout the adventure, and is resolved by way of a point system.<br />
<br />
The adventurers only ought to end up in a fight if they fail to act diplomatically, or if they end up helping the lizardfolk with some local problems in order to earn goodwill.<br />
<br />
This adventure is the first appearance within the book of an adventure site roster, which are brief summaries of what creatures are in which rooms and what might cause them to leave their current location. These tables are paired with more complex adventure sites in an effort to make them more manageable. This is the first campaign book I've read through properly, but I understand these rosters also appeared in previous campaign books. I want to take this opportunity to talk about them for a little bit, because I don't think they work. While any effort to improve the DM's running experience is fantastic, the actual execution of trosters is nowhere near as helpful as it could and should be. It surprises me that what seem like glaringly obvious issues have never yet been improved upon.<br />
<br />
Here's how the adventure site roster currently works: it's a numerically ordered list of rooms or areas. The entry for a room only tells me who is in the room and where else in the dungeon those creatures might go. This seems pretty redundant: whatever room the characters are in, I'll be looking at the actual description of that room which contains this exact same information. What would be far, far more useful would be a summary of what creatures might arrive in a room from elsewhere. I can currently get that information from the roster but only by an unnecessarily convoluted process: First I need to check the map to see which other room numbers are nearby, then I have to check <b>each individual entry</b> for those rooms on the roster in order to be confident I know which creatures might move from their room to the current location, and what triggers that movement (noise, a messenger from this room, etc.). This process is slightly more efficient than reading each of the room's full entries, granted. It's also true that rooms nearby on the map are mostly also nearby on the table. However, this isn't always the case (for example, in <i>Danger at Dunwater</i> creatures might move between room 10 and room 29).<br />
<br />
A far more logical and helpful approach would be to summarise who might arrive in a room and why in the roster, so that you only need to glance at one entry on the table: the one for the room the characters are currently in. The roster would be far more effective a tool.<br />
<br />
The first of tables below is an example of how the roster currently presents information, while the second shows how I would personally change the roster for improved clarity and quicker reference in play:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" class="tg"><caption><h2>
Lizardfolk Roster (Original)</h2>
</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th class="tg-66l1"><div style="text-align: center;">
Area</div>
</th>
<th class="tg-66l1"><div style="text-align: center;">
Occupants at Start</div>
</th>
<th class="tg-66l1"><div style="text-align: center;">
Notes</div>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2</b></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div style="text-align: center;">
5 lizardfolk</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-gwd2">These guards are alerted by noise in 1. If they are challenged, one of the guards tries to escape to 3 for help.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" class="tg"><caption><h2>
Lizardfolk Roster (Updated)</h2>
</caption>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th class="tg-66l1"><div style="text-align: center;">
Area</div>
</th>
<th class="tg-66l1"><div style="text-align: center;">
Occupants at Start</div>
</th>
<th class="tg-66l1"><div style="text-align: center;">
Notes</div>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2</b></div>
</td>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><div style="text-align: center;">
5 lizardfolk</div>
</td>
<td class="tg-gwd2"><ul>
<li>These guards are alerted by noise in 1.</li>
</ul>
ARRIVALS
<br />
<ul>
<li>The guards in 3 reinforce this room if summoned (see below).</li>
</ul>
DEPARTURES
<br />
<ul>
<li>If they are challenged, one of the guards tries to escape to 3 for help.</li>
<li>If still present, these guards reinforce the officer in 4 when they hear sounds of battle.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Unless and until Wizards of the Coast change how they present their rosters, I'd recommend making your own version before running any such adventure so you can add key information.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Chapter 4: Salvage Operation</h4>
In this adventure, the characters are asked by a struggling merchant to help salvage his wealth from a former ship of his fleet, long thought lost to the sea. The ship has mysteriously reappeared in local waters, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to reclaim the property deeds and promissory notes aboard, which he intends to sell in order to regain his lost wealth and prestige. He offers 10% of the profits of the sales to the characters, plus of course the friendship of a wealthy and important person may have other benefits. The adventure is for 4-6 level 4 characters.<br />
<br />
Since chapters 2, 3, and 6 are the trilogy that form the through line of the larger campaign, this is the first of what we might call side quests. However, a sidebar does provide the necessary information to run a sahuagin attack on the way to the adventure site. This is presented as optional but if you are intending to run the whole book through as a single campaign, my recommendation is to consider the attack extremely <b>non-optional</b>. The last thing you want is for the sahuagin to be a distant threat right up until the adventurers face them. It's valuable to show that the menace is growing, that they're willing to attack surface vessels now, and to start making it personal for the characters.<br />
<br />
While the events of this adventure are very exciting, it has significant problems. The disappearance and reappearance of the ship relies on a detailed background story that there is a good chance the characters will never learn. If this happens, the adventure is reduced to the level of an old school dungeon crawl of seemingly random monsters dropped into a location without context (in this case a Lolth-worshipping half-orc druid, spider-themed monsters, and a random group of ghouls which are somehow aboard the vessel).<br />
<br />
The background in question: the lost ship was not sunk in a storm as thought, but actually driven off course. Its crew dropped anchor at an island to look for food and water, only to fall victim to the cannibalistic tribes which lived there. After the island broke into war between two factions, one group escaped the conflict using the ship. At some point afterward the ship was attacked by a giant octopus (which is still pursuing the vessel), and only one of the cultists that was crewing it remains alive, along with various monsters.<br />
<br />
The trouble is that the captain's log may not be found as discovering it requires a DC 15 Perception check. In any case the log only describes events up until the captain and crew were defeated and consumed by the cannibals. The cannibal cultists of Lolth have left no written records which might shed further light on events. Since only one cultist survived, he's the only person capable of telling the next part of the story. However, the adventure directs that he "attacks at the first sign of intruders", meaning his death before he can tell his story is a very strong possibility. Furthermore, neither the captain's log nor the druid can explain the presence of four ghasts in the cargo hold (though the druid falsely believes them to be emissaries of Lolth). We are given the background to this: these were a group of thieves who stowed away on the ship before its last voyage and drowned in the storm. But the means of their death makes it unlikely we can provide any further context to our players: we might think about adding a letter on their persons, but how would such a document have survived water damage when the thieves drowned?<br />
<br />
The adventure ends with a dramatic timed scene in which the ship is torn apart during a sudden attack by a giant octopus. If they have managed to talk to the druid, the characters will know that the octopus already attacked the ship once and can deduce that it is pursuing the vessel. Otherwise, the attack comes out of nowhere and feels contrived.<br />
<br />
There's potential here, but it's a shame there are holes that need patching by the DM. As things stand, I would probably wouldn't use <i>Salvage Operation</i>. The effort involved to rework what I perceive as the adventure's flaws could be better spent homebrewing my own adventure that actually ties into the sahuagin arc.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Chapter 5: Isle of the Abbey</h4>
This second side quest takes the characters to the island abbey of an evil group of clerics. The abbey has seemingly been left empty after the clerics quarreled violently with local pirates, but there are undead present. The characters are contracted to clear the site of monsters so a lighthouse can be built at the location. In addition, there are optional rumours about the site you can use to encourage the characters to take the job. This adventure expects 4-6 characters of 5th level.<br />
<br />
The first conflict of the adventure is a pretty creative encounter, or series of encounters as the case may be. The characters attempt to land upon and cross a region of sandy dunes in which a large number of skeletons are buried in the sand. Crossing the dunes is akin to crossing a minefield, except choosing the wrong path results in an explosion of undead from the sand. If the characters can find signs of the single clear path, they can follow it safely through the dunes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Complications on the Dunes" border="0" height="" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tubWu9IMpds/XPpgM0nA1II/AAAAAAAANIk/p9lYwzHZNAgqn8tlNk8S7OULoQZO8ZCnACLcBGAs/s400/05-05-complications-on-the-dunes-p101%255B1%255D.png" title="Complications on the Dunes" width="600" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><em>Complications on the Dunes</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
After successfully traversing the dunes and arriving at the abbey runs, the adventurers will discover that the clerics weren't wiped out after all. Upon encountering the clerics, the adventure might branch from its original path: although it is very difficult to do so, the characters may be able to avoid fighting the clerics and might decide to help them to the mainland so they can get help to rebuild the abbey (if they agree to this and aren't deceiving the clerics in order to deport them, they obviously cannot complete their original contract). If the characters forge on and fight the clerics, the abbey ruins are essentially a straightforward dungeon crawl.<br />
<br />
I like this adventure. It has a unique and likely memorable opening encounter, and depending on how characters handle things events on the island could go very different ways. As written the adventure is pure side quest: it has no obvious links to the sahuagin arc or other adventures in this book. However, it's the perfect place to add such links. Here are some ideas: <br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Guildmaster Tabeth of the mariner's guild is aware of the town council's alliance with the lizardfolk, and their fears of sahuagin attack (as a lead figure in the mariner's guild, he certainly should be in the loop). Although this quest isn't directly related he can negotiate using this information: he can talk about how the sahuagin are not the only menaces the people of Saltmarsh have to fear, and hint that the sahuagin may even make surface allies of their own. A fortified lighthouse on Abbey Isle makes the shipping lanes safer and can also give Saltmarsh advanced warning of invasion by sea.</li>
<li>Lean heavily and expand upon the additional adventure hook or hooks you choose to use for motivating your players.</li>
<ul>
<li><b><i>Gilded Rumours:</i></b> make it clear with the rumours that people think whatever treasure or treasures are hidden in the abbey are probably magical: they're kept by clerics after all, would they be so mundane as mere gold or gemstones? Plant the idea that its treasures would be useful to the characters in their upcoming battle: Now that the abbey appears to be abandoned, and with the sahuagin threat the dominant issue facing the citizenry of Saltmarsh, it's quite natural that talk should turn again to old rumours about the abbey's hidden treasures. After all, there may be something there that would help Saltmarsh defend itself. And what if the Sahuagin got hold of whatever is there first?</li>
<li><i style="font-weight: bold;">For the People: </i>people might suspect that the dangerous fogs on the waters near Abbey Isle aren't natural, and that the source of the fog is some sort of magical item hidden on the island. If such an item exists it would be very dangerous if the sahuagin got their hands on it and used it to help mask an invasion. It's up to you whether this rumour is really true, but if you want to lend credence to the fog being unnatural you could use one of the three kinds of eldritch mist described in Appendix A: Of Ships and the Sea. Either way, if you rely on this rumour it would be worth having the characters encounter the fog on the way to Abbey Isle. They may be at risk of crashing against the rocks around the island, in which case they and Major Ursa might wash ashore upon the beach.</li>
</ul>
<li>The main arc of <i>Ghosts of Saltmarsh</i> concludes with chapter 6 and the two final adventures are unrelated to the sahuagin threat, or each other. Consider introducing another arc by somehow tying the events of this adventure to chapter 7 or chapter 8. </li>
<ul>
<li>Maybe they worship Orcus, like the undead pirates in <i>Tammeraut's Fate</i>? This is a really good fit considering how many undead guardians serve the cult. The clerics and pirates probably aren't working together, but the characters might find references in their unholy texts to the Pits of Hatred and ta prophecy that suggests the coming of Orcus' hordes is nigh.</li>
<li>Alternatively, or perhaps in addition, the evil clerics here once belonged to the same order of monks that occupy Firewatch Island in <i>Tammeraut's Fate</i>. Written records in the abbey might reveal this fact, though its relevance will only become apparent later. </li>
<li>Another option is to make them cultists of Tharizdun. The characters might find communications from the cult in the <i>The Styes</i>, or a draft of a letter from Ozymandius to "D" (Mr. Dory). </li>
<li>Be wary that determining the clerics follow Orcus or Tharizdun make a diplomatic solution to the adventure even less likely, if the characters figure out who exactly the clerics worship. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Chapter 6: The Final Enemy</h4>
<i>The Final Enemy </i>concludes the trilogy which began with <i>The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh</i>. It's designed for 4-6 characters of 7th level, so the characters may need to undertake another side quest after Chapter 5.<br />
<br />
The characters are once again asked for help by Saltmarsh's town council on behalf of the alliance against the sahuagin. This time, the characters are tasked with an essential role: they are to infiltrate the sahuagin stronghold in the former home of the lizardfolk, and return with intelligence that will bring about the enemy's defeat.Their goals are determine the sahuagin's strength of numbers, identify key areas of the fortress (which has been modified since the lizardfolk were ousted), discover significant defenses, and learn how soon the sahuagin might attack. The adventure continues the trilogy's preference for thoughtful solutions: the characters are infiltrators, so should avoid fights where possible and defeat any enemies they do encounter quickly and quietly. If they do alert the stronghold as a whole, this adventure has the potential to go very wrong for the characters very fast.<br />
<br />
The adventure site can be reached by sea or land. There are no encounters preceding arrival, so I'd recommend either skipping past the journey or spicing it up the journey. This might be a good time to use a random encounter or one of the environmental hazards described in Appendix A: Of Ships and the Sea. A storm, fog, or sandbars might fit here.<br />
<br />
The sahuagin stronghold is a big place, and lots of sahuagin are present. This means that the included adventure roster should be a helpful tool for determining whether the characters alert any nearby sahuagin as they move about the fortress. However, as you know by now it also should be far more helpful than it actually is. I'd consider it worthwhile prep to redo the roster with better organised information.<br />
<br />
Slaves present in the fortress add an additional complication for moral characters, who may hate the idea of leaving the slaves even if they may be rescued in the subsequent attack. If given the opportunity to do so, they will flee the stronghold, but they're really in no condition to be wandering the corridors alone without an escort. If the characters allow them to do so, many may not survive.<br />
<br />
After returning with their intelligence, the characters are rewarded, but of course there part in the plan isn't done: the alliance want them to join the attack on the fortress as a strike team so it's back to the stronghold they go! The alliance forces sweep through the stronghold, and they will win no matter what, but the degree of success is determined by the characters. Their own victories and achievements add points to a tally. The degree of success also affects the rewards granted to the characters by the Saltmarsh council at the end of the adventure. In addition, the DM is tracking the sahuagin's alert level, the raising of which has consequences for the battle. It looks like quite a lot of tracking, but the result seems like it should be a lot of fun!<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Chapter 7: Tammeraut's Fate</h4>
If the characters have been playing through the entire campaign, they have by now been awarded with citizenship and a free house in Saltmarsh. With these ties in the area and other possible adventures to be had in the region, they're hopefully in no hurry to leave. That's good, because although the campaign's central story is now concluded, the book still has two higher level adventures for them to face! In <i>Tammeraut's Fate</i>, the characters travel to the nearby village Uskarn (a choice of hooks are provided to help you get them there from Saltmarsh), where they accept the request of a druid to investigate the hermitage on nearby Firewatch Island. He's concerned that the monks that live there haven't been heard from in some time. For this adventure the party ought to have 4-6 characters of 9th level, so do another side quest if you need them to level up.<br />
<br />
The monks have become victims of a crew of undead pirates who serve the demon lord Orcus. They need humanoid corpses to feed the Pit of Hatred, a rift to the Abyss. The corpses go in, and drowned ones come out. If not dealt with, the drowned ones will spread to skarn, Saltmarsh, and beyond, continuing to seek new victims and build an undead army.<br />
<br />
The adventure briefly describes Uskarn. The village description even has an Intrigue section which includes information about local smuggling operations, providing an adventure hook entirely unrelated to the main quest.<br />
<br />
The characters will have to explore the Firewatch Island Hermitage, while avoiding or overcoming a particularly nasty peryton that hunts in the area. They then must defend it agaisnt a horde of drowned ones, before venturing underwater to face the drowned ones' leader and seal the Pit of Hatred.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Monstrous Peryton" border="0" height="" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WJbw210XhI/XPpjSQ03jiI/AAAAAAAANI8/x9gvYfC1CvUsL6dsZUpDixLP5EhNXawJwCLcBGAs/s400/07-04-p144%255B1%255D.png" title="The Monstrous Peryton" width="600" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><em>The Monstrous Peryton</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Aside from the smuggling operation noted above, the final sections of this adventure pertain to further adventures characters could have that are connected to <i>Tammeraut's Fate</i>. If you do the work to flesh them out the three adventure seeds provided, it's feasible to significantly expand your <i>GoS</i> campaign with a second major arc.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Chapter 8: The Styes</h4>
The final adventure of the book describes events on a decaying port which can be established as a self-contained town or as a district of any large coastal town in your campaign world. Saltmarsh itself is not large enough to contain the Styes (and we see that it isn't included on the Saltmarsh map), meaning that this is another adventure that requires the characters to travel elsewhere. The notes in chapter 1 recommend placing it in an isolated harbour city on an island in the Azure Sea. The expected level for this adventure is 11th, and it's once again designed for 4-6 characters.<br />
<br />
As with the last chapter this adventure first describes a new location The Styes, and provides potential hooks to get the characters to the town. This provides the backdrop we need for the following parts of the adventure, which kicks off with a murder mystery. This sets off immediate alarm bells because of the expected level: 11th-level spellcasters have significant ways to steamroller through this sort of adventure. Single class casters should have 6th-level spells by now, which means they have multiple ways of finding out information with minimal or no prior investigation: c<i>ommune</i>, <i>divination</i>, <i>locate creature</i>, <i>scrying</i>, and <i>true seeing</i> are all available. Fortunately, an awareness of this seems to have factored in at the design stage: indeed, the adventure references <i>divination</i> and <i>commune</i> specifically as options for characters who have lost the trail. Just don't be surprised if your players manage to skip big chunks of the investigation with well-reasoned and well-phrased questions to higher powers.<br />
<br />
The investigation eventually leads the characters to the mysterious Mr. Dory, and an investigation of his warehouse leads to a fight with he and his skum minions. This is one of the memorable encounters I've seen, as it includes a decommissioned ship held aloft by a crane in the warehouse yard. Mr. Dory uses this ship as his lair.<br />
<br />
Mr. Dory's connection a cult of Tharizdun and a being called The Whisperer, believed to be Tharizdun's messenger, who gives the cult orders. They find an aboleth at the temple (which is of course the Whisperer) recuperating after being attacked by its kin. Here they may defeat it, make a deal with it, or perhaps succumb to its psychic enslavement...<br />
<br />
The final stage of the adventure involves finding and exploring a sunken temple known as Landgrave's Folly, where the aboleth keeps and protects a juvenile kraken touched with madness. The kraken is fed kidnapped beggars and other folks no one would miss, while all the negative emotions of the people of the Styes feed dark magic that accelerates the kraken's growth. To foster the fear of the citizens, the kraken manufactured the Lantern Ghost, enslaving a local fisherman and forcing him to kill.<br />
<br />
The juvenile kraken must be slain. If not dealt with, it will soon emerge and begin a reign of terror in the area. Causing the kraken to flee avoids that horror, but taking the long view it may be a worse result: hidden in the ocean depths the kraken can grow to adulthood unopposed. Any kraken is a catastrophe in physical form, but one touched by Tharizdun's destructive madness could become a threat of apocalyptic proportion in the fullness of time.<br />
<br />
This is a very cool adventure with intensely high stakes and a whole raft of interesting encounter locations. As mentioned, access to high level divination spells might bypass some of the adventure, but after reading it through I'm fairly confident that it should still be a good play experience, with enough meat on the bones of the adventure even if the investigatory aspects are largely skipped.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Appendix A: Of Ships and the Sea</h4>
What good would a supplement about sea-based adventuring be if it didn't include new rules governing sea-based adventures? This appendix will be invaluable not just in running <i>GoS</i>, but other nautical adventures as well. Even if you never intend to run the adventures, the content here alongside new monster statblocks ought to be enough to tempt you.<br />
<br />
The appendix starts with rules governing ships. Unsurprisingly, the actual rules aren't significantly changed from <a href="https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/ships-and-sea" target="_blank">the version of the rules we saw in <i>Unearthed Arcana</i></a>. Most differences are ultimately cosmetic: some rules have been slightly reworded, and the appearance of some sections within the rules has even been reordered. I noted a few major differences:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The actions section of a ship's statblock has changed. Rather than their exact attacks be specified, ships can now take a certain number of actions chosen from a list (this section of the statblock looks similar to a monster's legendary actions). The number of actions that can be undertaken goes down as crew are slain or incapacitated.</li>
<li>Each sample ship also gets a detailed description as well as a statblock, including a breakdown of a typical crew (including which statblocks to use if necessary). The descriptions summarise what can be found aboard the ship, and larger ships are broken down into multiple sections as though they were an adventure site to help you find things ("main deck", "officer's quarters", "forecastle" etc).</li>
<li>All sample ships come with a map (with the exception of the rowboat, which obviously doesn't need one).</li>
<li>The rules here now include ship upgrades, which grant your ship special benefits/powers. The upgrade system has been made intentionally simple: rather than price everything separately, each upgrade costs 15,000 gp and requires 1d4 weeks of work. In play, I'd suggest using these numbers as a baseline but introducing a small amount of variance to the price and construction time for upgrades slightly based on current market conditions, availability of materials and skilled workers, rarity of the technology, etc.</li>
<li>The hazards section has been significantly expanded, and now includes rules to govern a number of specific types of hazard. These include crew conflicts, fires, fogs, infestations, and storms. There's a table you can use to determine a hazard type at random.</li>
<li>The section "Owning a ship" has been removed entirely, along with the downtime action Managing a Ship. This is a slightly surprising omission, as this downtime action specifically resolved finding a crew which many DMs would no doubt find helpful. If you ever need such a rule, at least you know you can find it on page 9 of <a href="https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/ships-and-sea" target="_blank">the <i>Unearthed Arcana</i></a> version of these rules.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Smaller Ships" border="0" height="" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z_RjKyHFDoY/XPpj_LT7zbI/AAAAAAAANJE/BHyRk2gFD5IcfNEHXQPWBe6K7h-aoFvOwCLcBGAs/s400/smaller-ships%255B1%255D.png" title="Smaller Ships" width="600" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><em>Smaller Ships</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The section Ocean Environs provides rules for a variety of environmental hazards and sites of interest. These include blue holes, coral reefs, currents, depth, kelp forests, sandbars, shipwrecks, and whirlpools. There are also a few less more mystical environs: eldritch mists, kraken's graves, lure lights (the souls of dead aboleth!), sapping snow, and magical storms.<br />
<br />
Encounters at Sea provides Open Water Encounters tables for ships travelling out on the deep blue. This is an adventuring environment not catered for by the tables in <i>Xanathar's Guide to Everything</i>, though look there for coastal and underwater encounters! Some of the encounters on the Open Water tables are ships, but the nature of the ships isn't specified: they should also be generated at random, which can be achieved using the guidelines in the subsequent Random Ships section. Likewise, you might roll a "mysterious island", which can also be generated using rules in this chapter.<br />
<br />
It's worth remembering that there are also two random encounter tables in Chapter 1: Saltmarsh. Although those tables are intended specifically for the Saltmarsh region, there's no reason you couldn't use them every now and again to add variety to any other nautical campaign. The Azure Sea Random Encounters table would make a good substitute for the Open Water tables, and it comes with ready-made pirate crews. Meanwhile, the Coast Random Encounters table might be more easy to access at the table than the more expansive equivalent table in <i>Xanathar's Guide to Everything</i>, or you may not have that book.<br />
<br />
The Random Ships section includes tables to generate the following:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Type of ship (taken from the sample ships earlier in the appendix)</li>
<li>Ship name</li>
<li>Crew names. These aren't given names, you could use other tables for that: they're meant to be sailor nicknames. This table is a fun idea but only moderately useful in my opinion. How much use you'll get out of it largely depends on your tolerance for very silly names, as only some of the results of this table really sound like hardened sea dogs. To give you some idea, it's perfectly possible to get results like "Drizzly Patches", "Silky Angel", and "Pretty Charm". Drizzly Patches must be an unfortunate character indeed, and the latter two sound more like magical girls than grizzled sailors!</li>
<li>Ship Purpose (cargo, passenger, fishing, military, piracy, mercenary, or ghost)</li>
<li>Attitude and Race. As well as determining who is crewing the ship and whether they're friendly, indifferent, or hostile, this section has tables to determine their disposition: whether they're willing to trade, have an emergency, etc. Personally I'd not use the race tables very often (with perhaps a few exceptions I'd rather crews be of mixed backgrounds) but your mileage, or nautical mileage in this case, may vary. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Overall the Random Ships section is pretty decent for throwing together a ship encounter, but if you can I'd recommend coming up with a few in advance so you're not rolling one up in play. Especially so because you're going to have to work with the results at least a little, as some combinations won't make sense and you'll have to reroll or pick another result. You're unlikely to encounter a galleon which is intended for fishing, for example.<br />
<br />
The mysterious island section of this appendix describes and provides tables for generating a variety of uncharted isles ripe for adventure. The section describes 6 island themes:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Alien islands are ruled over by strange, eldritch creatures (aberrations) and inhabited by humanoids or cultists indoctrinated into their worship.</li>
<li>Cursed islands are steeped in the residue of dark magic, and are typically inhabited by undead.</li>
<li>Hostile islands are inhabited by intelligent creatures that actively want to harm visitors to their shores. It's a bit of a generic concept, and ends up being less exciting than some of the other islands for it. </li>
<li>Sanctum islands are inhabited by creatures that want to protect themselves from raiders or live in isolation. They may or may not be willing to entertain visitors.</li>
<li>Wild islands are those on which nature and wild magic reign. Typical inhabitants include beasts, plants, and fey.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I like this section a lot for what it is. I could wish for more specific types of mysterious island because I think there's a lot of untapped potential still, but perhaps we'll see a collection of additional types on DMsGuild one of these days. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The final section of this appendix describes and provides a map for three generic underwater locations that you might find useful for insertion into an underwater adventure: a reef, a shipwreck, and a ruin. Alternatively, these locations can be used as a starting point to inspire adventures: each location has a section of guidance for generating adventures that might take place there. Each also has a collection of ready made encounters that use the map, and each of these encounters has a hook that you can use to tie it into the <i>GoS</i> campaign. This whole section is well though out and fantastically useful.</div>
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Appendix B: Magic Items</h4>
The second appendix is a short one, containing just six magic items. These are the <i>Charm of Plant Command</i>, <i>Cursed Luckstone</i>, <i>Helm of Underwater Action</i>, <i>Pipe of Remembrance</i>, <i>Pressure Capsule</i>, and <i>Sekolahian Worshiping Statuette</i>.<br />
<br />
They're fun, and mostly useful. The <i>Charm of Plant Command </i>and <i>Helm of Underwater Action </i>in particular need no explanation. The <i>Cursed Luckstone</i> lets you roll with advantage, but then inflicts disadvantage on your next two rolls. And of course, the typical curse that you can't easily get rid of the item. If used carefully, this still might be considered worthwhile.<br />
<br />
A <i>Pressure Capsule </i>is a consumable that allows you to ignore effects of swimming at depths greater than 100 feet (if you're not aware, these effects are described in the "Underwater" section of Unusual Environments in the <i>Dungeon Master's Guide</i>. The <i>Pipe of Remembrance</i> has no mechanical benefits, but is very cool all the same since it lets you conjure smokey images of your past achievements and victories. I can see a lot of characters wanting to take possession of it, especially since you don't need to attune. The <i>Sekolahian Worshiping Statuette </i>does nothing practical from an adventurer's point of view: it's a foot-high, shark-shaped statue that can bite tiny fish that swim near its mouth for 1 damage up to once per hour.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Appendix C: Monsters and NPCs</h4>
This appendix includes statblocks for a number of creatures. Some are republished from V<i>olo's Guide to Monsters</i> for convenience. A number of others are converted, new to 5e but not new to D&D. The appendix contains the following creatures:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Amphisbaena - if you ever want a more deadly version of this CR 1/2 monster (which is CR 1/2), my own CR 5 take on the amphisbaena can be found in <i><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237249/Monstrous-Monograph-Monstrosities-Volume-I" target="_blank">Monstrous Monograph: Monstrosities Volume 1</a></i>. </li>
<li>Bard - also in <i>Volo's Guide to Monsters</i></li>
<li>Bodak - also in <i>Volo's Guide to Monsters</i></li>
<li>Bullywug Croaker</li>
<li>Bullywug Royal</li>
<li>Deep Scion - also in <i>Volo's Guide to Monsters</i></li>
<li>Drowned Ascetic</li>
<li>Drowned Assassin</li>
<li>Drowned Blade</li>
<li>Drowned Master</li>
<li>Fathomer</li>
<li>Giant Coral Snake</li>
<li>Giant Sea Eel</li>
<li>Harpy Matriarch</li>
<li>Juvenile Kraken</li>
<li>Koalinth</li>
<li>Koalinth Sergeant</li>
<li>Kraken Priest - also in <i>Volo's Guide to Monsters</i></li>
<li>Kysh (Triton) - though Kysh is a named NPC this statblock is useful because Kysh is typical triton warrior, and to date we only have a triton player race and not any monster stats).</li>
<li>Living Iron Statue</li>
<li>Lizardfolk Commoner</li>
<li>Lizardfolk Render</li>
<li>Lizardfolk Scaleshield</li>
<li>Lizardfolk Subchief</li>
<li>Locathah</li>
<li>Locathah Hunter</li>
<li>Maw Demon - also in <i>Volo's Guide to Monsters</i></li>
<li>Maw of Sekolah</li>
<li>Merfolk Salvager</li>
<li>Minotaur Living Crystal Statue</li>
<li>Monstrous Peryton</li>
<li>Mr. Dory - a named NPC, he's an unusual variant of skum (which also appear in this appendix).</li>
<li>Oceanus (Sea Elf) - those who own Storm King's Thunder already have stats for a sea elf warrior, but Oceanus is slightly stronger so you could use this statblock for leaders of sea elf patrols.</li>
<li>Pirate Bosun</li>
<li>Pirate Captain</li>
<li>Pirate Deck Wizard</li>
<li>Pirate First Mate</li>
<li>Rip Tide Priest</li>
<li>Sahuagin Blademaster</li>
<li>Sahuagin Champion</li>
<li>Sahuagin Coral Smasher</li>
<li>Sahuagin Deep Diver</li>
<li>Sahuagin Hatchling Swarm</li>
<li>Sahuagin High Priestess</li>
<li>Sahuagin Wave Shaper</li>
<li>Sanbalet - a named NPC smuggler. He's a 3rd-level wizard, you could use his statblock as a template for other lower level mages.</li>
<li>Sea Lion</li>
<li>Shell Shark</li>
<li>Skeletal Alchemist</li>
<li>Skeletal Juggernaut</li>
<li>Skeletal Swarm</li>
<li>Skum</li>
<li>Storm Giant Quintessent - also in <i>Volo's Guide to Monsters</i></li>
<li>Swarm of Rot Grubs - also in <i>Volo's Guide to Monsters</i></li>
<li>Thousand Teeth - a legendary giant crocodile</li>
<li>Vampiric Jade Statue</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A Skum" border="0" height="" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6DqYdXFy1CA/XPpkmpAs4GI/AAAAAAAANJQ/jj-jElX2LhYy1U7ByIeBQYXghhsEfln8QCLcBGAs/s400/636918877666194101%255B1%255D.png" title="A Skum" width="600" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><em>A Skum</em></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
As you can see there's quite a lot here that's new - to Fifth Edition at least! If you like picking up new sources of monsters to help diversify your own adventures, there's good value in this appendix for you.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
My Rating and Summary </h2>
<div class="review-score">
<img alt="" border="0" height="125" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1qzmjo6W05gLnVhNmvHSDrbSKSr_KjVO9" title="18 out of 20" width="125" /></div>
<br />
<strong><em>18 out of 20! A superb hit.</em></strong>
<br />
<br />
<br />
DMs looking for their next published campaign have a lot to look forward to if they choose <i>GoS</i>. As mentioned, the adventures are mostly superb: they're highly competent conversions of the older material, expanded and improved and tied together into what amounts to a pretty satisfactory campaign. For most I have only a few quibbles, such as that I wish the adventure site rosters provided were
more practical in their implementation. The only adventure I'm less than keen on is <i>Salvage Operation</i>. I regret to say that in spite of its exciting setting I'm surprised this is considered a classic adventure. I'm equally surprised that it was found worthy of inclusion in its current form alongside so many better thought out adventures. If I run a <i>GoS</i> campaign, I'm not sure I'll include this one. Fortunately, it's completely disconnected from the main arc and is easily replaced. You're given plenty of ideas for how to do that: there are literally dozens of adventure hooks in this book as well as ways to tie in the adventures of <i>Tales From the Yawning Portal</i>. Whether you agree about <i>Salvage Operation</i> or not, whichever adventures you personally like or dislike, the designers have made it trivially easy to weave whichever parts you're prepared to use into a full-length campaign. This is probably the book's greatest strength.<br />
<br />
The fact that there is no overarching story (three out of eight adventures aside) may be considered a weakness by some. For DMs intending to run the whole sequence of adventures as a full campaign, there may be some extra work to be done here to tie things together more cohesively and bring about a satisfactorily epic conclusion. There is a very loose connection between all the adventures that might be worth exploring: every single one pertains in some way to an evil deity/power. The three adventures of the core Saltmarsh trilogy has the characters face off against sahuagin, who worship the shark god Sekolah. <i>Salvage Operation</i> involves a cannibal cultist of Lolth. <i>Isle of the Abbey</i> introduces evil cultists who worship a deity of your choice. In <i>Tammeraut's Fate </i>(along with the hooks for further connected adventures described in this chapter), undead hordes of Orcus are on the verge of being unleashed upon the world. Finally, <i>The Styes</i> involves a cult worshiping Tharizdun. There's definitely something here to build upon if you want a grander story. While these entities are different enough that it's not easy to tie them together into a single conspiracy, perhaps the connection is simply that the power of evil is waxing. The rise of all these dark powers may be a sign of a coming apocalypse?<br />
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Another strength that can't be overstated is the fact that the book actually includes <b>three</b> adventure hubs. Saltmarsh gets a whole chapter, of course, but if a DM wants to do so they also have enough information about Uskarn (the village from <i>Tammeraut's Fate</i>) and the Styes (from the adventure of the same name) to run additional adventures based in and around either location. Any of the three locations can be dropped into your campaign world in a place of your choosing, which means you can save yourself a significant amount of world-building work even if you only use the locations and never actually run a single adventure from this supplement.<br />
<br />
All in all, this is an excellent supplement that oozes potential and inspiration. I'd love to run <i>GoS</i>! But even if you don't intend to use the book's adventures, <i>GoS</i> still comes highly recommended for all 5e DMs who might ever expect the player characters to venture out to sea. It provides almost everything you could ask for to help you run a campaign near, on, and under the water; along with a few things you probably wouldn't have thought to ask for!spilledalestudioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11412950191446926864noreply@blogger.com6